The Flawed Vampire
by Feltbeat
Summary: Bella Cullen has lived a peaceful and undisturbed life with her immortal family. But one day, a letter changes everything, and normal will be redefined as she knows it. Lots of OCs. WARNING: Major Character Death. R&R. Reposted from original version.
1. Prologue

**Granted I am relatively new to Fan Fiction, you've got to give me some credit for just figuring out how to upload my story. As you can tell from visiting my profile, I haven't had a lot of time to make it all sparkly and pretty. This isn't my first Twilight – related story, but it is the first one for me to post on here. I want to know what you think. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. **

PROLOGUE

"Status report."

"We had her scent right in front of us, she was hidden in that crummy apartment. Gage almost had her – "

"Almost?"

"Yeah, well – "

"Well?"

"She slipped away right at the very last moment. Cameron tried to hold her back, but – "

A fist came crashing down on a hard surface. "This is getting beyond ridiculous. This is the fifth failed attempt to capture a human. Give me one reason not to destroy you right now." The voice was cold, but in it was the slightest hint of curiosity.

"Sir, please, you must understand!" This voice was pleading. "She's not like any of the others we've captured. Her scent is so unbearably delicious, it becomes nearly impossible to make contact with her, without making her our lunch."

"I said I wanted her brought back here alive." The sentence was spoken with such superiority, it made the second speaker's voice croak slightly.

"That you did, sir. But even Gage couldn't get too close to her. Her scent is just too tempting. If you could smell her yourself, you'd understand."

"I'd love to be able to do so, but given the numerous failed attempts to capture her, I still have to wait a while, don't I? And you know I don't like to be apart from something I want for too long." There was a new, jeering note in the voice.

"Y-Yes sir. But I'm a little confused. Even Gage couldn't resist her tempting aroma. How on Earth do you plan on changing her?"

The first speaker smiled lightly. "Do you doubt me, Larnell?"

Shivers were sent down a certain someone's spine. "No Sir. Not at all Sir."

"Then what's the problem?" A long pause followed. Larnell seemed at a loss for words. The voice sighed. "Very well. Send in Gage."

"Yes Sir." Larnell exited quickly, eager to escape company of the eerie man.

Footsteps were heard coming nearer and nearer.

"You wanted to see me Sir?" Gage spoke with more awareness than Larnell, but didn't sound very comfortable either.

"Yes, very much so, Gage." The voice had taken on a softer, more ponderous tone. Light footsteps made a soft sound as they traveled back and forth, marking numerous spots more than once, which could only suggest that the body to whom the voice belonged to was pacing. "I'm interested to know what it is about our…'special' human, that has created so many failures in my most powerful vampires."

An icy wind crept around, searching for vulnerability.

"It's…it's not Norman," Gage said quietly, and sounded like his voice could break at any moment. "It's...addictive. Once you get a taste of her scent, you know immediately that it won't be possible for you to have only one bite."

"So, she smells good. Is that it?" The voice was starting to sound irritated and impatient.

"Not even close." Gage's knees gave out, as he sank onto the icy cold floor. "Her scent…it's beyond anything I have ever tracked. It's so strong that it was easy to follow, but simultaneously it made it equally just as easy to lose myself in it's aroma, and get off the trail." His body shook slightly. "Sir, her scent is more powerful than that of a human baby."

The voice seemed to have regained it's curiosity after that last sentence.

"Oh?"

"It's so fantastic, you get taken away to the most perfect place in the world. It took _me_ every bit of strength I had not to attack her. But you said you wanted her brought back alive…"

"Yes." Another long pause followed.

"But," Gage continued, "it's not something I could even truly begin to describe. You have to actually smell her to truly see how intoxicating and irresistible her scent is."

"I see…" There was no hiding the thoughtfulness in the voice now, thought it was impossible to guess what thoughts were there. "Gage, tell me something. Do not lie, because you know better than anyone that I will know if you are lying." Gage swallowed. "Would I be able to resist her long enough to safely and successfully change her?"

Gage didn't look pleased to have to answer this question. His gaze lowered, and his body shook slightly more. "No Sir."

But the voice didn't appear to have become angry or upset. Instead, it sounded more thoughtful. "Then I shall have to find someone to do the jobs for me."

"Jobs, Sir?"

"It has become an undeniable fact – no one here will be capable to capture or change our 'special' human. Hence I'm going to need to find others that _can_ perform these tasks." He paused for a moment. "Do you have any recommendations, Gage? Do you know anyone who you feel might be strong enough for this?"

"Sir, have you consulted Aro about this?"

For the first time, there was a sour note in the voice. "The Volturi will be kept out of this matter for now."

"But Sir – "

"What Aro and his cloaked puppets don't know won't hurt them." There was a sort of finality in the sentence.

"Yes Sir."

"Now leave me be, Gage. Thank you for your help."

"Yes Sir." There was a shuffle of footsteps, and the sound of a door clicking. Silence followed, then became interrupted by the once again thoughtful voice.

"The Volturi will be kept out of this for _now_. They'll come in handy, though. They will capture my human." There wasn't another person in the room. Pacing of the voice's owner followed. "But who can I trust to change her?" Suddenly, the voice emitted a small gasp. Quickly, the footsteps descended into another room and out of sight, closing the door behind them.

There was a lot of work to be done.


	2. Chapter 1: Gone

**OOC: No author's note today. I don't know what to say. So, here's Chapter 1. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the original characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer. I do, however, own the plot and all of the OCs, as well as any original ideas and creativity. **

Chapter 1:

Gone

Bella POV

I closed my eyes, smiling, as Emmett's brows creased even further. He just wouldn't let this drop. I sighed. Maybe it was better to just let him win for once, and make him happy. Or not…

I put just a little more effort into it, and Emmett's arm came crashing down on the table, smashing it into bits of splintery wood.

Emmett glared, and I couldn't help but laugh. As soon as I stood up, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist.

"Just face facts, Emmett," Edward's perfect voice said, with just a touch of amusement. "You will never beat Bella at arm wrestling. If you keep on trying, you will only lose more bets." Within seconds, Alice's perfect figure stood next to us. "What did he lose now?" Edward asked me.

"Nothing but more ego, pride, and dignity," Alice smirked. Emmett growled.

"She's not always going to be this strong, you know. And when that time comes – " But his voice was drowned out by our laughter.

"Anyway, Esme sent me out to tell you that it's time to hunt," Edward said, tracing a pattern on my back. I smiled and planted a kiss on his lips. I meant for it to be a quick peck, but it soon turned into more. My hand moved into his hair, pulling him closer. Emmett cleared his throat.

"Erm…we should probably go meet up with the others," he said, clearly annoyed. I smiled. Things had gotten a lot better around here since Emmett lost his privileges to say anything to anyone about Edward and me. Sprinting alongside my husband, we made our way into the forest where Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and Jasper were already there, waiting. As soon as we got there, I ran towards Rose.

"Any world from Billy?" She nodded in response.

"Yeah. Jacob and Nessie are having lots of fun. They went to the pool and to parks. He said Nessie enjoys hunting the most, with Jacob." She still said his name with a tone of repulsiveness. I sighed in relief.

"Good. Good." It hadn't been easy to let my daughter spend two weeks in La Push. Jacob suffered several scars from my first few reactions when he asked, and he has to have sworn at least three hundred times that he wouldn't let Renesmee into any harm. Strangely enough, the last four days without her were harder on Edward and Rose than on me. I obviously missed her, and felt sick with worry for her safety, but I was surprised beyond anything when I didn't have a breakdown on the day Renesmee said, "Bye Mama." I snuck a peek at Edward's face. He looked gloom, and I knew he was listening to Rosalie, who in turn was obviously thinking about Renesmee. Since she left, Edward had sunken into an absorbing depression. And Rose…she missed my daughter so much, she called Jacob on his cell phone every day. She actually _talked_ to him. Yesterday she even managed to hold a conversation with him without throwing an insult at him. We were all very proud.

It wasn't until now that I realized Edward, Alice, and Carlisle were standing together in a tight huddle, their heads inclined down to look at something.

"This is really quite something, isn't it?" Carlisle said in a hushed voice. I made my way over towards them.

"What's up?" I placed my arm around Edward's shoulders. He looked concerned, but it was Carlisle who answered.

"We've just gotten a very interesting letter from the Volturi." I blinked at the name. What did they want? We hadn't heard anything from them since the time they first met Renesmee. I was even starting to forget about them. But of course, this wouldn't be the first time they reappeared into my life just when we least expected them to.

"What did it say?" I whispered, my arm tightening around Edward's shoulders. This time Alice answered.

"It's alright, not much to be worried about." The look on Edward's face told me otherwise. Carlisle looked simply fascinated. "It just seems that a new group of vampires has been discovered in Japan. The Volturi don't yet have an estimate of how many complete this group, but they do know that it isn't a coven." Rose, Esme, Jasper, and Emmett had gathered around us now too, listening.

"What do you mean, they aren't a coven?" Esme asked quietly.

"It means that they are rogues," Edward spoke for the first time, his voice grave.

"Rogues?"

"They're vampires that choose to remain hidden. Like the Volturi, they drink human blood. There aren't many rogues out there, because the Volturi destroy them as soon as they make their existence known."

"Destroy them? Why?" I asked.

"Rogue vampires are called because they live out in the world all by themselves. But what makes them different from nomads is that they don't like to follow the rules. They are like vampire criminals to the Volturi, who in turn are the justice system."

"So, the rogues like to expose themselves out in front of humans?"

"Not exactly. They do, but that's pretty much a minority." Edward paused, and I waited. "The first couple of rogues that bonded together killed three vampires." I was confused.

"Newborns? I thought lots of them are killed." But Edward shook his head.

"They were all centuries old. The vampires that died were Sasha and Vasilii from the Denali Coven and Didyme - Marcus's mate." I gasped, finally understanding.

"So the Volturi are afraid that since the rogues have come together again that more vampire casualties will occur?" Edward didn't need to answer, but he did.

"Yes. Unfortunately, we don't know why the rogues have done this. The motive for their actions is a mystery."

"There's more in the letter," Carlisle cut in. "The Volturi believe that the group isn't just two or three select rogues. In fact, they think that every single rogue in the world has come together to form this relatively small group. See, there aren't that many of them left out there, the Volturi have done well in their goal to wipe them out. They don't know how many rogues are in this group, but I would take an educated guess at around seven."

"The Volturi sent out the same letter to all of the other covens, as well as the nomads, warning them to be on the lookout for these rogues," Alice said, reading from the letter. "If we see them, we are supposed to hold them here and await the Volturi's arrival." Emmett sneered.

"Yeah, right. I say, if we find of those bastards, we shred them on the spot. Vasilii was a good guy." He paused for a moment. "Dibs."

Edward looked furious. "We are _not_ going out to _look_ for them. The rogues are very dangerous. On the contrary, I think we ought to split up into groups to hunt, so we can get done sooner and leave the forest."

"I think that's a wise idea," Carlisle agreed. Emmett rolled his eyes.

"Okay." Edward eyed all of us. "I'll go with Bella and Alice." My heart did a small flip. My two favorite Cullens!

"I'll go with Esme. Can I trust you three to handle this?" Carlisle addressed Emmett, Rose, and Jasper. Emmett's booming laugh echoed through the nearby surroundings.

"Don't worry. Rose and I will be sure to make out so much, Jazzie will hunt like he's never hunted before. Right, brother?" He clapped a hand on Jasper's back with his usual force. Jasper didn't even blink, rolled his eyes, and leapt into the deep green forest. Carlisle sighed and Emmett grinned. "Later," he said to us, and then turned to Rose. "We'll have to make out extra viciously if we want him to hunt even faster." A small giggle escaped Rose's mouth, and then they disappeared, leaving us staring after them. Was this Emmett's idea of "scoring some"? I tried not to focus on this topic any more. Carlisle and Esme approached us.

"Best of luck," the doctor said quietly.

"Take care," Esme added in a motherly tone. And then they were gone. Alice smiled at me.

"Don't get any ideas, Alice!" Edward suddenly said, reading her mind. Alice frowned.

"It was just a thought. God, Edward, lighten up!" Her high-pitched voice sounded irritated. Edward didn't reply, but sprinted into the darkness of the forest. Alice and I followed.

"What were you thinking, Alice? What made him so upset?" My voice gave off a hint of frustration. Why couldn't Edward tell me his feelings? What could be so bad that he couldn't share with me? Lately, I've been wanting to be able to read his mind just as much as he wanted to read mine.

Alice shrugged. "I just thought you and I would ditch him once we've hunted and go somewhere." I looked shocked. Ditch Edward? I wouldn't do that in a million years, even if it was to hang out with Alice.

"And where exactly would we go?" I asked carefully. It wasn't that I was actually considering her offer, but I did want to know what she had in mind.

She shrugged again. "I don't know. Maybe the movies, maybe the library, maybe to a grocery store." I could only stare. _Alice_ wanted to go to a _grocery store_? She didn't even mention the mall. Alice had obviously caught on to what I was thinking. "I just thought you should get away from Edward for a while. Do something to get your mind off of him, even if it is something as boring as going to the library."

But my stare didn't leave her eyes. "Alice…do you really think I'm ready to go out into public? I'm less than a year old. Do you really think I can do it?" I took an unnecessary breath. If Alice felt I had enough self-control to go out in public, where hundreds of humans would be around me every moment, then surely it wouldn't be much longer before I could be allowed to go see Renee, and her and Phil's new baby. I still sometimes couldn't believe it after she told me that I had a little human sister. But I had been warned. Human babies had by far the most tempting and irresistible scent known to vampires.

Alice's voice broke my train of thought. "Absolutely," she said without hesitation. Then she lowered her voice. "Mountain lion, two o'clock." I froze in place, scenting the air. It was a mountain lion, no doubt of it. Female. Heavyweight. But Alice had spotted it first, so she was entitled to the banquet. She glanced at me and I nodded. Within minutes of pointless struggle by the cat, her teeth clasped around its neck, blood gushing out. As she drank, by throat burned. I was getting more thirsty by the moment. I scented the air again. There weren't any more mountain lions around, but a group of elk were gathered together near a watering hole. A much stronger scent, one that I knew perhaps more than any other, was also there. Edward.

He was stalking the elk, clearly ready to spring at any moment. I crept up behind him, smiling lightly, eager at the chance to hunt with him. "Well?" He said it so suddenly that I jumped back several feet. The elk scattered around, startled by my sudden movement.

"Dammit, Edward! Why'd you scare me like that? I almost had them!" I knew that I was probably making a bigger deal out of this than it really was. But the burn in my throat was increasing, and Edward's facial expression of gloom made me lose all interest of greeting him happily.

"Well?" He asked again, looking at me with an expectant glare.

"Well what?" I wasn't in the mood to play games.

He looked irritated. "Do you actually want to go with Alice?" His question took me completely by surprise. But the face of torture he made when asking it made me even more angry.

"So what if I do?" I couldn't believe my own words as they escaped my mouth.

"Bella, it isn't safe to go out in public. Not only are the people around you at risk, but with these rogues out there, so are you."

I hissed. "Alice thinks I have enough self-control to be in public. And I am more than capable of defending myself if I run into anyone or anything dangerous. Edward," I looked him square in the eyes, "I'm no longer the danger and accident prone human that I used to be. I am a vampire who can produce a shield to protect form danger. And you must learn to accept that." Edward stared at me, his expression frozen in place. I didn't blame him. If I was in another body, I would have been staring at myself too. The way everything came pouring out, it sounded like I was trying to trigger a fight. But that wasn't true. It couldn't be true. Edward and I hadn't ever had a _real_ fight. We've had a fair share of disagreements, most of which were eventually settled with compromises. I sighed and took a step forward. "I'm sorry Edward." Taking another step, I took his hand into mine, and gave it a light squeeze. "But maybe Alice is right. Maybe I need to get away for a little bit. And I think that would be good for you too. You need to get your mind off of Renesmee." I didn't miss how his eyes flinched slightly as I said her name. "And I need a break from all the negativity that you bring with you into every atmosphere." I couldn't believe the words that came from my mouth, but it seemed that the more of them I said, the more they made sense to me. I let go of his hand. His eyes flashed into mine, and in them was anger.

"How can you blame me for being worried about our daughter?" he hissed. "Honestly, Bella, you're upset because I miss her, but you don't seem to give a damn if she's okay."

Suddenly I couldn't take it anymore. I knew I had to get out of there if I didn't want to hurt him. Giving a last look, tried to say, "I'm sorry, but I need to go ." In return, he greeted me with a look of his own, one that said, "You're making a huge mistake."

My feet were in control of me now, as I sprinted away as fast as possible, heading towards Alice. I left her at least a mile away, but she greeted me halfway there.

"Alice, I'm going with you. Anywhere you want to go. The mall, the super mall, the Mall of America, you name it." My eyes were probably bulging out, I was too worked up to be sure.

Alice frowned. "You two had a fight." Tearing up, I nodded. "We'll go somewhere," she assured me. "But I know you haven't eaten yet, so I have something for you." As she stepped aside, positively beaming, the massive body of a grizzly bear reflected in my retinas. Grizzly was always Emmett's favorite, not mine, but I was in no position to complain. Giving Alice a nod of thanks, I dove in and started to drink. The strong taste of bitter iron was the first thing my senses tasted. Then warm liquid poured into my mouth. I was never particularly fond of grizzly taste, but I finished quickly and quietly. After some practice, I had learned how to hunt without making a mess or splattering myself with my food. Alice smiled when I was done. "So, did you really mean what you said about going to the mall with me?"

"Absolutely," I said, without hesitation, and I was surprised to find that I actually meant it.

"Great!" Alice's eyes shone with delight. Breaking the silence as though on cue, her cell phone rang, and she reached into her pocket to answer it. "What is it Carlisle?" Pause. Alice glanced at me. "Yes, they had a fight." Pause. "I don't _know_!" as she continued to talk, I suddenly felt a chill creep up my spine. This surprised me – I shouldn't be able to feel cold now that I was a vampire. Suddenly, I felt a large, strong hand cover my mouth and start to drag me back. I did two things simultaneously – produce my shield so that Alice would be okay, and plunge my teeth down into the hand that continued to pull. I heard a manly yelp as the hand snatched away, and I took this momentary pause to scream out, "Alice! Help – " But as predicted, the hand came back. The figure was dark and large and I couldn't see the face. My punches and kicks, which were stronger than Emmett's seemed to have no effect on him. Alice looked up and saw what was happening.

"What the – !" Dropping the cell phone, she was in front of me in the blink of an eye. In that same instant, something exploded, and Alice was thrown back several yards. I couldn't understand anything anymore. My shield was supposed to still be around her. Why was she affected? Up on her feet before she hit the ground, Alice sprinted towards us. The hand that didn't hold me reached back and pulled out an envelope, and threw it onto the ground. Another explosion came from somewhere, unbearably loud, and suddenly it was all dark. We were up in the air somewhere, and it was so dark that even my vampire eyes couldn't see anything. Despite my horror at what just happened, I was curious as to where we were and who my abductor was, neither of which seemed to respond to my abilities. Then I could feel the pressure of the air lower, as we neared the ground.

Carlisle POV

"Stupid. So stupid. Idiot," Edward mumbled at himself, pacing the perimeter of our living room.

"Edward, stop it already. You're giving me a headache," Rose complained. But Edward didn't show any intention of stopping.

"How could I have said all of those things to her? I am such an idiot! And what was I think actually letting her go out in the open like that? Stupid!"

"Okay Edward, that's enough." At the sound of my voice, Edward quieted. I was still fumbling with my phone, trying to figure out why I was talking to Alice one second, and the next there was nothing but silence. Emmett and Rose were sitting on the couch, watching TV – some uninteresting broadcast about near-death experiences that Emmett for some reason found fascinating. Esme was folding laundry – an action in which I never saw the point. We never ran out of clothes – Alice made sure of it. But Esme always did act more human that the rest of us. That was part of why I loved her.

And Jasper…the poor kid. It was stupid of me to send him hunting with Em and Rose. On their hunt, the two had apparently come as close to sex as possible in front of someone else. And now Jasper locked himself in his room. The more I thought about it, the worse I felt. I should have taken Jasper with me. Edward and I were already closer than a father and son. Emmett always went with me when we hunted up north in Alaska. But I barely knew anything about Jasper nowadays. I had no idea how he was holding up from his thirst of human blood, or how his relationship with Alice was going. I should have bonded with him more. Even though I was "young and sexy" as Esme had said to both Emmett's and my amusement, I still felt obligated to my fatherly and parental duty. I walked over to Jasper's room and gently knocked.

Silence.

"Jasper, can we talk?" I asked, feeling a little self-conscious.

More silence.

Suddenly my cell phone rang. Walking back into the living room, I answered. "Hey Alice." She sounded completely out of breath.

"Carlisle, it's – I – he – I…" Alice had never stuttered or stumbled, more or less sound so urgent and paranoid.

"Alice, what's wrong?" My concerned tone of voice caused every head to look up at me. Every except Jasper of course, but my voice was loud enough that I knew he was listening. Before Alice could say it, I caught a glimpse of Edward's face and I knew that he knew.

"Carlisle, Bella was kidnapped!"


	3. Chapter 2: Decisions

**OOC: Yes, yes, it has been an unfairly long amount of time since I last updated, which is very unfair to you, and I apologize for that. And I know that this is a very short chapter, but hopefully the next two will be nice and long and will satisfy your thirst for Twilight. :D **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the original characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer. I do, however, own the plot and all of the OCs, as well as any original ideas and creativity. **

Chapter 2

Decisions

Carlisle POV

"Carlisle, Bella was kidnapped!" Alice repeated, only to be greeted once again by our silence and statue-like stillness. "Carlisle!" she screamed. This had finally brought me back into reality from the zone into which I'd tried to escape into. I knew I should assume my authority and say something, but it was Emmett who spoke.

"Now, Alice, we know this isn't possible." His voice was surprisingly soft, with but a small hint of worry in it. "Bella is a vampire. No human could have possibly hurt her in any way." But Alice shook her head, upset.

"No, no, not a human. He was one of us, no doubt of it. He…I…I couldn't _see_ him. I had no idea he was coming. I saw _NOTHING!_" Everyone was listening intently, and even Jasper had left his room and joined us.

"Alice, please tell us exactly what happened," I said, speaking for the first time in a while. She nodded, looking on the verge of tears, if she could cry that is.

"Bella had just come back from…" Her voice trailed off as she glanced at Edward, who nodded once for her to continue, looking stony. "She ate. Then we were about to leave the forest, when Carlisle called me. I was talking to him, and for a moment I-I couldn't see anything. Then I heard Bella scream out. I dropped the phone," Ah, that would explain the sudden hang-up, "and saw _him_. He had Bella pinned. She was exerting all of her force to push him away, but nothing did any good. She did bite him, but even that stopped him only long enough for her to scream. I tried to hit him, but he did something, and I was blown back." Jasper hissed, and I wondered if he was imagining the whole scene just as vividly as I was. "So then, he throws an envelope onto the grounds and they disappear as this huge explosion follows." She paused. "And I didn't see it coming. I should have. Just like he should have been stopped by our attacks." Then she became quiet.

"Who was it?" Esme asked gently, placing a hand on Alice's shoulder.

"I don't know," she said earnestly. "He wasn't anyone from any of the covens that we know. I've definitely never seen him before." She paused, and then continued gravely. "I think he might have been one of the – "

"Rogues," Edward finished for her. His expression was deadly, and I knew where this was going. He was going to blame himself for everything that may or may not have happened.

Rosalie seemed to be thinking along the same lines as me, because she said, "Don't even start, Edward. None of us had any idea that they would be here. We thought these guys were in Tokyo – "

"_THIS IS MY DAMN FAULT!!_" Edward screamed, and looked very dangerous indeed. Enough for me to step in.

"Edward, stop." I didn't speak harshly, but I made my desire clear. "Alice, may I see that envelope that this vampire left?" This shut everyone up. It was interesting to see sometimes how the things that I said and did affected the others.

Alice pulled out a plain white envelope. It looked cheap and dirty, much different than the expensive, heavyweight manila envelope that the Volturi had used to send us their warning. Reaching inside, I pulled out a single sheet of white paper. A letter. I started to read the scraggly but legible handwriting.

"_Cullen Family, as you know by now, we have captured Mr. Edward's lovely wife. We have no intention of hurting her, as long as we get what we want." _

I stopped reading there for a moment, allowing time for everyone to digest this. What could these rogues want from us? Edward, Alice, Renesmee? Did they, like the Volturi, crave interesting talents or gifts? We needed to know.

"We do not ask anything more than the privilege of meeting Mr. Carlisle Cullen. Please do not take this as a threat, but we fear that if Mr. Carlisle is unable to meet with us, Mrs. Bella will be the one to suffer. If you do not wish for this to happen, you will have Mr. Carlisle come to the following address by no later than 8 p.m. on Wednesday. Please remember, we do not want to hurt or kill Mrs. Bella, but we may have no other choice if you don't comply with our demands. Mr. Carlisle is free to bring with him any members of his family, but if he cares about what happens to his daughter-in-law, he will limit it to ONLY his family. We hope you make the best decision."

Following that was an address, located in Tokyo. No one said anything, as pure shock lingered in the room.

Me? Me? Me?

Why me?

What on Earth could they possibly want from me?

I didn't have an interesting gift like Edward, Alice, Jasper, or Renesmee. I wasn't as strong as Emmett or as quick as Edward. I didn't have any sort of treasured possession hidden away.

Why did they want me?

Edward looked beyond words, lost in shock. The others now took turns passing around the letter, to see for themselves if the horrific things that I read were true.

They were holding Bella hostage to get to me. And if I didn't come, they would kill her. I was allowed to bring with me any of my family members, but no one outside my coven. I had two days to do it.

"Okay," Rosalie said, breaking the binding silence. "So they have Bella. But she's strong enough to get out, right? I mean, these rogues – " But she was cut off as a beast snarled from Edward's chest. He lunged at her, only to be restrained by Emmett and Jasper.

"There is no question as to whether or not we go," Alice spoke. "If they have Bella, we will save her at all costs." Wise words, but I knew that the bravery with which they were spoken was fake.

Emmett took his turn. "So…these guys have killed mature vampires, right?" I nodded. He grinned. "Excellent! I can't wait to try someone who actually puts up a fight." So he was decided. I glanced towards Edward, Jasper, and Esme.

Edward was still fighting the grip on him, eager to get at Rosalie. "_I WAS AN ASS!! I GOT HER INTO THIS, AND I WILL TEAR ALL OF THEM APART, SO HELP ME GOD!"_

Jasper shrugged, but the concern didn't leave his face. "I think we ought to go, but I'll go with whatever you decide." My eyes lingered on him for a fraction of a second too long, before turning to Esme.

"Yes," she said in a clear, chime-like voice. "Bella has been part of our family for a long time now, and we _all_ need to get used to it." She glared in Rose's direction. "I'm shocked that this has even been put to a vote, Carlisle. Bella wouldn't have thought twice about staying if it had been one of us in her place." I had completely agreed with her, and to be honest, I didn't know why I had taken such a formal approach on things. Bella was my daughter. I would risk my life to save her.

"All right." I glanced back down at the letter. "It says we have two days to get there. When should we leave?" I was beginning to question my sanity as I asked another ridiculous question. Of course we would leave as soon as possible. But _some_ of us chose to comment upon this anyway.

"Well, I think we ought to wait a while. After all, how do we know this whole thing isn't just a Quileute prank?"

"Shut up, Rosalie!" Alice spat, sounding quite hostile. "We will leave right now, with or without you!"

"Some of us value our lives!" Rose snapped back. Edward looked up.

"Bella would die to save your worthless life, you whore!"

"Enough." My voice brought everyone back to attention. "They have asked for my presence in return for Bella's life. I will leave in a matter of hours. No one is forced to come, but all are free to do so it they want. I will not resent anyone who chooses to stay." And with that, I headed upstairs.

I didn't know what to pack. I mean, what kinds of things would you bring to what could very well be your execution? In the end, I ended up with the credit card that was the key to open my biggest bank account, which held well over several million dollars. I also took a wallet-sized picture of my family.

Esme, Edward, Bella, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rose, Nessie – they all went into my pocket as well as enough money to so sustain a small country for several years.

I gave everyone two hours to make their decision – I figured that would be plenty of time for them to make up their minds. In the end, Rosalie had decided to stay home, as well as – to my surprise – Alice and Jasper.

"The letter said to only bring members of your family," Alice had explained. "You know that we consider you to be more than family, but Jazz and I aren't linked to you by blood and venom. We don't want to take any more risks than we have to. Besides," she said grudgingly, "I can't see."

We had decided not to tell anything to the Quileutes, Jacob, Nessie, or Charlie. We didn't need to have to worry about anything more right now.

Esme, Edward, Emmet, and me – the four of us against the deadly unknown. I'd tried to stop thinking about what awaited us as we boarded the plane to Tokyo, by making myself feel guilty that once gain I was missing out on the opportunity to bond with Jasper.


	4. Chapter 3: Gray

**OOC: Wow. I can't believe it has been this long since I last updated. I'm so very incredibly sorry to all of you. I finally got some people to read this story, and now I'm blowing everything by lack of updates. Thankfully, I'm going to have a lot of free time soon, so updates will be **_**much **_**more frequent. **

**To those that haven't noticed, I put up a new fanfic on the epic story of I Am Legend. Also, I posted a brand new one-shot on the movie Push. If you guys could take a look at those, it would be greatly appreciated!**

**And as for now, here's chapter 4!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the original characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer. I do, however, own the plot and all of the OCs, as well as any original ideas and creativity. **

Chapter 3

Gray

Carlisle POV

I didn't like all of the commotion in the airport around us, but it was something I'd gotten used to over the many years. I had to give it to us – it was difficult for people to keep their eyes off of us when we were around. This time was certainly no exception.

We were all strangely quiet as we boarded the one-way plane to Japan, and I didn't need to be Edward to know why. I also didn't need to be Jasper to know what everyone was feeling. There was fear – oh yes! Lots of fear. But there was also worry. Worry for Bella and her safety. Worry our own lives and if we would get to keep them. Worry for the many residents of Japan that would never see daylight again when the rogues got hungry.

And then there were the occasional feelings of regret. Regret for what we did and didn't do when we should or shouldn't have. I knew that I, for one, was remembering the many opportunities that I had to spend time with Jasper, but didn't take them. How stupid I felt now. How foolish!

Unpleasant thoughts raced through my mind the entire flight. I believe that no one had said a single word since we left the house. The silence was ominous but not entirely unpleasant either. It gave everyone a chance to meditate on whatever they needed to.

I glanced at the address on the crumpled up and stained piece of paper in my hand. Some of the pen ink had smudged through the perspiration on my hands, but the writing was still legible. I blinked as I looked at it for what must have been the hundredth time, checking to see if it was real and not just a figment of a nightmarish imagination. No matter how tight I clung on to that pathetic piece of paper, it didn't disintegrate into thin air. I wanted so much for it to do so, but fate was not so merciful today.

A young lady wearing a skirt that was much too short approached Esme and I, who sat together in our seats. "Would you care to browse through our menu, sir? It will be a long flight and we urge you not to go hungry. All of our meals come with a complimentary beverage of your choice." She spoke with a spunkiness that made me feel a little nauseous. The stewardess eyed me with an expectant look, and Esme had to elbow me in the side before I said anything.

"No, thank you," I said with as much composure in my voice as I could gather, and tried to smile. Thankfully the stewardess didn't appear disappointed in the least, and walked away, telling me to call if I needed anything. I nodded, but knew that I could be having a heart attack and wouldn't make a peep.

Someone sniffed behind us. I turned to see Emmett, who looked more melancholy than ever.

Esme looked at him with concern. "Are you quite alright?" She paused, having obviously realized how pointless that question was. None of us were alright at the moment. "Don't get yourself too stressed out. That won't help the situation in the least."

Emmett glared at her. "What am I supposed to do, then? Sit here and play my Nintendo with a big-ass grin on my face and pretend that nothing is wrong? Pretend that we aren't flying off to our own funerals? Pretend that Bella might not become snack food at any moment?"

It was my turn to glare. Emmett had spoken the forbidden words. No one actually forbad them, but it was an unspoken and unwritten covenant that they were to be voiced only through thought. And now Emmett had broken it. He realized what he had done far too late. I didn't break my contact with him.

"I told you from the start, Emmett. You didn't have to come with us. This was your choice entirely. I would have bid you no harsh comments or thoughts had you decided to stay at home with Rose, Alice, and Jasper. While I realize that Bella wouldn't have given a second thought as to whether or not to come if it was _you_ in her position, I would have understood your desire to protect your life and stay behind." Emmett turned red and avoided eye contact with me, but I wasn't done with him yet. "But you chose to come with us. It was your decision, and no one is to blame for it but you. I truly hope that you didn't come because you felt obligated to do so. Do you think that had the rogues not asked for my presence that I wouldn't come? Of course I would!" My voice came out louder than I anticipated and several people turned to stare. "In the end," I said more quietly, "Bella is my daughter. That's what it comes down to. And I don't know about you, Emmett, but if my daughter's life was at stake, I would risk mine to try to save her."

By now, Emmett's cheeks were fiery red, and he was doing whatever he could to avoid looking at me. He had developed a strange interest in the fork in his hand, observing its every detail. As I turned back around, Esme beamed at me.

"That was very nice of you to say, darling. I couldn't agree with you more."

"I meant it," I said, and I noticed that my voice seemed to be a bit hoarse.

Esme cupped my cheek in her hand. "You needn't worry. I'm sure that everything will turn out perfectly fine. You're going to be fine. Bella's going to be fine. We're all going to be fine. Don't be so worried." She smiled and planted a short but affectionate kiss on my lips. I responded, but without much enthusiasm. Sweet, sweet Esme… She was the most amazing person in the world, but she could be so naïve at times.

"Hmph!" came a voice from in front of us. Edward.

I leaned forward to see his face. "Edward?"

He scoffed slightly. "Nothing, nothing. Carry on with your love fest. Meanwhile, my Bella is in the hands of the most dangerous creatures in the history of forever. Oh, sure. There's nothing to be worried about in the least." He turned around and cast his grief-filled eyes on Esme, who looked terrified upon seeing him like this. "Everything is _not_ going to be fine," he whispered. "Since the moment I let her go, nothing will ever be alright again. I have failed as a husband and as her protector. I have failed…" his voice trailed off in a mixture of anger, sorrow, and regret. I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Edward. Look at me." He didn't. "Look at me, dammit!" He did. "You did not fail. You didn't even make a mistake." The look he gave me clearly said otherwise. "You may not believe it now, but you will eventually. What happened was an unpredictable event that was by far no one's fault. You are not to blame. Bella is not to blame. No one here will be labeled as the cause for this, not while I'm alive. Do you understand?" I waited until he gave a small nod. "Good." I leaned in and kissed his forehead. "Get some rest, Edward. We still have ten more hours before we land in Japan."

"How the bloody hell am I supposed to 'rest', Carlisle? I can't sleep, now, can I?" he sounded irritated and exhausted simultaneously.

"Rest your mind then," I said gently. "Don't overwork yourself with feelings of guilt. That won't help us."

Edward grunted something that I couldn't hear, but didn't make a big fuss. That was a step-up for him.

The four of us were silent again, but I was sure on the inside, our thoughts were unbearably loud. Mine were.

What did I really think? I didn't blame Edward for this in the least, and I was sure that that played a part in his relatively calm composure. He could read it in my mind, he knew that I was telling the truth. But the other thing… Emmett wouldn't know it, for I was sure that Edward wouldn't tell him, but I did lie. Not just to him, but to everyone.

How could I not resent those that chose not to come with us? How would I ever be able to look Rosalie in the eyes again without feeling repulsion and anger boil through my veins? I even felt some disappointment with Alice and Jasper, though they had a perfectly good reason to stay behind. For some reason, it was very hard for my mind to comprehend that someone who has met Bella _wouldn't_ want to save her. Bella, who had been nothing but kind to us. Bella, who wouldn't accept the smallest of gifts but would risk her life for us. Bella, who brought such joy and happiness to Edward. Bella, who gave us so much and never asked for anything in return. Bella.

Esme leaned her head on my shoulder. She wouldn't be sleeping, of course. I placed an arm around her shoulders and tried to think about nothing for the rest of the flight.

_Exactly ten hours later…_

The airplane landed. While the people around us chewed gum furiously to pop their ears as soon as possible, I was more interested in my new surroundings.

I had never been in Japan before. In my many years of life, it was one of the few places it never crossed my mind to visit. Now, as I looked outside the window, I understood just how much life I had been missing.

We must have been gliding over a major city – Tokyo, perhaps. It was nighttime, but beneath there was anything but dark. Millions and millions of bright neon signs and advertisements glowed shone so brightly that they could be seen from this far up in the air. Giant skyscrapers, higher than those in New York, towered over the wide and long streets. There seemed to be more cars than people, as every parking lot was full to the brim. Hotel lights were on, and stores played loud music. Arcades, anime stores, restaurants, bars, casinos…the list went on. Each sign was written in a language that I could hardly understand. The entire sight of the Japanese city was quite overwhelming, and I assumed that was the reason the entire plane seemed to have become free of conversation.

As the plane lowered even more, I began to see more and more details below. The people…there were so many of them. Nighttime _would_ be an appropriate time for parties and shopping and otherwise mingling. But still! So many people… And then the writing.

I had never felt quite so helpless before. Why hadn't it ever occurred to me in the many years of my life to learn Japanese?!

The writing was highly unfamiliar, and I could recognize only a few words. My mind was racing, and if I had a pulse, it would be going crazy right now.

I caught sight of the airplane lines below, and knew that we were at the airport. Because it was dark, the lines were lit with many small lights, which in turn lined up in curving and straight rows to make a visible path for the airplane. I heard the wheels of the plane come out, and soon we were on the ground.

Not one of us had taken luggage with us. Emmett simply stuck his Nintendo in his back pocket, Edward pulled the headphones from his ears and placed them in his own pocket. Esme hooked her arm through mine, and together we exited the plane. Many odd looks were cast our way, but this was not something that we cared about. Stare all you want, point all you want, whisper all you want.

In a comfortable but weary silence, we made our way behind an inconspicuous tree, and took off at an incredible speed from there. We traveled on the outskirts of the large city, and this proved disappointing to me. I had been eager to see the Japanese culture up close and in person, but there was a much more important task ahead of us. We made our way around the city, traveling at speeds we usually saved for emergencies – not that this wasn't one. Not a single word was spoken, and to tell the truth, I wouldn't have it any other way.

I glanced once more at the paper in my hand. It seemed as though, in my stress, I had punctured a hole through its middle. It mattered not, however. As long as the address was visible.

_Find us on the outskirts of the city, about 17 miles north, on the west side. You can't miss it. The building will appear to be an old, abandoned, green garage, with the number 88 on the front. Enter the building. Then await._

That was the "address" in question. It was not a specific location – they were trusting that we could find the place without detailed instructions. That was fine, we would be more than capable.

"Stop," I said to the others. They did.

I glanced around and tried to calculate the distance we had already traveled. It had to be around 15 miles by now. I braced myself and looked for any sign of the building. They said that we can't miss it. I looked ahead and all around. Surely, it had to be here. But I saw nothing. Frowning, I scanned the area up ahead. Maybe I was looking too hard? According to the message, it had to be rather obvious. But I still saw nothing.

"Carlisle, what exactly are we looking for?" Esme asked. I remembered that I still hadn't actually told them about the location.

"An old green garage. It's supposed to be right here," I said, pointing to my left.

Esme cautiously took a few steps in that direction. The trees were tall and so were the shrubs, so perhaps the building was enclosed behind all the vegetation. I wanted to shout "be careful", but instead I just ran over and followed her. Emmett and Edward were close by behind us. Everything around us seemed very quiet…too quiet... The eerie presence that I suddenly felt was very uncomfortable. Esme shouldn't be the one leading the way, but I was too much a coward to do anything about it. I felt a chill on my arm – _that_ was unusual. Vampires were not supposed to feel such strange temperature drops.

Something felt very, very wrong here. Very frightening. Very cold.

"It's here," Edward said in a soft, shaken voice. We looked to see where he was, which was about a hundred feet up ahead. He was looking at something that couldn't be seen from our angle of sight – it was behind a wall of dense trees. We hurried to join him. I wondered if the others felt the same strange sensations as I did, but I didn't voice the question. I stood next to Edward now. I saw it.

The building was certainly there, just as it had been described in the letter. The ugly green color looked very warn and faded. There were a few broken and dirty windows in the building, and a wide garage door and a regular small door. The building itself was large, and the white garage door seemed wide enough to host about ten of Emmett's Jeeps.

The building itself had a very perfect place in these woods. The color matched the surroundings well, especially in the dark. Some of the trees' branches covered the top of the building artistically and gloomily at the same time. There was a dirt path leading from the garage door outwards for about thirty meters, but then it becomes suddenly cut off, as grass takes over. Although the building looked very lonely by itself, I couldn't think of a more right place to put it. It just…fit.

The air around me suddenly seemed to be very moist and humid, as the four of us approached the normal-sized door together. The ground beneath my feet appeared to have aftermaths of rain on it, as I treaded on the pebbles and rocks and mud that sprawled out on the driveway.

I glanced at Esme. She appeared frightened and her eyes were wide.

I glanced at Emmett. He too, didn't look very comfortable.

I glanced at Edward. His eyes were fixed on the door. He was anxious and eager.

I took an unnecessary breath and pushed the door open.

I had to smile to myself. I had half-expected it to be locked, but the rusty golden knob turned with complete ease, as though recently oiled. The door swung open, and I took a hesitant but firm step forward. I knew that if I had a heart rate at the moment, it would be going crazy.

The inside of the building was much different from what I had imagined. What _did_ I imagine? A group of rogues huddled inside, holding pieces of Bella out for us to see. A torture chamber. A gathering of some sort.

What we walked into stunned me completely.

For one, it was dark inside. I didn't know if there was a lamp anywhere, but the light inside was even darker than that of the outside. A few rays of gray came through the broken windows, just enough to see parts of the ground. There were tree branches scattered everywhere. Perhaps a storm had knocked them through the window. The entire inside of the building was filled with grayness – it was a very eerie surrounding. Behind me, Esme, Emmett, and Edward didn't say anything. I could tell that they were just as surprised as I was. But if they felt the same uncomfortable presence around them – that I was unsure of.

I spotted some cobwebs on the broken windows. They looked dusty and old, as they probably were.

As disturbing as the surroundings were, they were also almost peaceful. Had the situation not been so distressful and if I could, I would probably fall asleep right there and then, for bits and pieces of the gray had almost a milky look towards them.

"Carlisle?"

The noise made me jump, and the others looked very startled as well. My eyes were wide, for although the voice was familiar, I knew it was neither Esme's, nor Emmett's, nor Edward's. But it was familiar nonetheless.

"It's him, I knew it. It's Carlisle. I think some others are here too, but I can't be sure."

With a horrified expression on his face, I turned to see where the voice was coming from. Sure enough, it was from the darkest of all corners in the building, where I could see nothing.

"Oh, thank God!" This was a different voice. I knew that I'd heard it before, but I couldn't place a name to it. "Carlisle! Come over here! Help us!"

But I couldn't move. I didn't want to move. Not if it meant having to find out what was lurking in that dark corner. With a start, I saw a slight edge of movement from the corner.

"Carlisle, come over here, please!"

I glanced behind me. Esme, Emmett, and Edward were all looking at me with an expectant gaze. I knew that I had to be the one to go over there.

I took a deep breath. The darkness was so dense over there that I truly couldn't see anything. I took cautious steps forward, praying that I wouldn't trip or stumble over anything.

"I'm right here, Carlisle!" It was the first voice again. Right in front of me, down below. Shaking, I kneeled down and reached a trembling hand out in front of me. Slowly, I moved it forward. Every inch I advanced, my mind felt on the verge of collapse.

Finally, my hand touched something. It was soft, like hair. Yes, it must be hair.

"I'm right here, Carlisle."

I looked in front of me. There was nothing but darkness. I squinted as hard as I could and tried to force myself to see something.

"Move to the left. The light is better that way."

I did as I was told. And sure enough, right in front of me, I saw the outlines of two faces. As I moved closer, I saw their features.

And I gasped in shock.

"Aro! Demetri!"


	5. Chapter 4: There

**Oh no! No reviews for Chapter 4! Well, I guess that's what I get for forgetting to update for such a long time. But the story must proceed nonetheless. Like I said, updates are going to become more frequent, because I want people to read this story. I actually kind of like it. So, without further a due, here's Chapter 5 for you! It'll give you a lot to think about as to what may or may not happen, so have fun speculating.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the original characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer. I do however, own the plot and all of the OCs, as well as any original ideas and creativity. **

Chapter 4

There

Carlisle POV

Nothing made sense. My brain – great at sorting out thoughts as it was – was unable to process this or make some sort of understanding. But the sight of seeing a familiar face was too comforting – charred and frightening though it was. But, I thought to myself, it could have been worse. Much worse.

Aro glanced up at me through his lengthy black hair, and immediately I noticed that he looked different. For one, his hair had lost its previous glow and shine, and now appeared old and dry. Of course, this might have been due to the gray presence around us, but I was sure that this wasn't just a figment of imagination. I examined his face closer. I didn't dare breathe.

It was covered in long, deep gashes that leaked dark blood, which in turn seemed to have smeared and dried on his face. I could tell that the others were behind me, stunned at what we were seeing. I knew that we were all thinking the same thing – whatever attacked them had to be pretty strong. It took much more than a simple knife to leave such an imprint on the hard, almost impenetrable skin of a vampire. And then there was the blood.........

Vampires could not bleed. We did not have a working blood stream or a beating heart. The only way that we existed was through the venom that now pulsed in our systems. And yet, the liquid staining Aro's face was unmistakably red. I shuddered.

"It is a miracle that you have come here, Carlisle, but I suppose it wasn't exactly at your own free will," Aro said with a voice that seemed so much more hoarse than usual. None of us spoke. In all of our lifetimes combined, neither of us had ever seen the Volturi leader in such a devastated, broken, and vulnerable state. Frankly, it was almost too much to comprehend. "We were beginning to think that no one would come after all. This is quite a deserted area. But then Demetri caught your scent and said you were coming. I didn't believe him at first, but I can see that he was quite right."

I stole a glance at the best tracker in the world and was very taken aback. The vampire who looked to be in his early twenties was in an even worse state than Aro. Blood stained his khaki clothing, and his usually bright red eyes were now dull and bleak. He stared at the ground the whole time, not saying a word.

Esme was the first of us to break the awkward silence, for which I was grateful. "What happened to you two? What are you doing here?"

Aro gave a weak laugh that didn't match the expression on his face. "I didn't think that your family was _that_ ill-informed, Carlisle. Did you not receive the letter of warning that we so generously sent you and your lovely relations?"

"We're not ill-informed!" Emmett snapped, fuming. I could tell that his resentment towards the Volturi leader had not been lifted because of the old man's appearance. "We're here to save Bella. These rogues have captured her."

"Oh?" Aro asked, though he did not seem surprised in the least. "That is most unfortunate. I was rather fond of Mrs. Cullen." Edward let out a low growl but didn't say anything.

"Why are you here?" Esme repeated. I could tell that her own limit was close to the breaking point. Aro could be quite the irritating man.

"Like your precious Bella, we were also taken captive and brought to this awful place." Aro scrunched up his face in disgust, as though to add emphasis to his hatred of the surroundings.

Edward looked surprised. "But…how? You're the Volturi, shouldn't you have killed them on the spot?"

"We were caught off guard," Aro spat unpleasantly, his voice most bitter. "We weren't suspecting them to come. And even when they did, we didn't realize it until it was too late." I could tell that he hated the idea of the Volturi incapable of realizing something, though I still had no idea what he was talking about. But Esme beat me to asking about it.

"What do you mean?" she inquired cautiously.

Aro sighed. "It's hard to explain. We didn't know what the rogues looked like, only that they existed. So when a couple of vampires came to us and asked for our help, claiming to be new nomads, we had no way of knowing if they were lying. And it didn't hurt that they offered us mounds and mounds of treasure for our services."

"What services?" Edward asked in a hushed voice. He probably already knew more than we did, with his gift and everything, but it was good that he asked.

"They wanted Demetri." I snuck another peek at the tracker. He looked most melancholy. "They wanted his tracking ability to find a human girl. We did not inquire much for their motives, the gold and treasure was quite impressive, you know – but they claimed that they wanted her for a special meal. We were in no position to refuse with what they were offering. Did you know that those giant blocks of pure gold that were stolen from the Ancient Egypt tomb were actually hiding in Japan all this time?"

"What happened, Demetri?" Edward asked softly, addressing the tracker. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but Aro beat him to it.

"Well, I let Demetri go, of course. Like I said, they wanted him to find a human girl. One of the two that came to us was also a tracker. He explained to Demetri how he had been unable to find the girl because of her – how did he put it? – delicious, irresistible, mouth-watering, and magical scent. They required someone with Demetri's skill to find her. I willingly agreed, with the exception that they gave us the payment first, which they did. We couldn't have been happier. They promised that Demetri would be gone for no more than a couple of days. But a week later, we had not heard from any of them."

I then realized that I had been listening so intently to the story that I didn't realize the expression on Edward's face. It was struck with realization and awe, mixed in with anxiousness and pity. I knew that he knew what had happened, but he didn't say it aloud. So I waited patiently for Aro to continue. As much as I disliked the man, it was crucial that we knew exactly what had happened.

"With my best tracker gone without a trace, I was left with no idea as to how to find him. And I wanted to. Demetri is one of my most prized possessions." He beamed in the trackers direction with affection, as though this was the greatest compliment anyone had ever been given. Demetri, however, showed no sign of recognition to the man's words, and continued to stare into nothingness. "I had other trackers of course, but they were no match for Demetri. They followed their scent for a few miles, but then were left completely lost. I had no choice but to enter the picture myself."

I felt Emmett inhale behind me. Breathing, for him, meant he was nervous.

"I wasn't exactly sure where and how to start, but as luck would have it, I had a chance to make physical contact with one of the rogues before they left. There was nothing of any suspicion in his thoughts, which erased most of my doubts about them. Of course, I now know better. But I was able to recall what he _was_ thinking about: a green house in Japan. I couldn't get an exact location, but I traveled to Japan nonetheless. I didn't tell the others where I was headed, and that was a stupid mistake. Had I told them, we would have been found by now." Aro paused for a moment.

"I thought that they had forgotten about me – they were much too interested in Demetri. But I was wrong. I was followed. As I tried to locate the green house that continued to pop into my mind, they continued to keep an eye on me. They noticed what I was up to. And they tried to warn me off." Aro scratched his hair absentmindedly. "They first sent me a letter to go back home and not to return. When I disregarded the warning, they contacted me through a call, with the same message. How they got my number is a mystery to me. But when I still continued to pursue their trail to find Demetri, they came to me in person." His voice hushed now. It was deadly quiet in the building, with the exception of his voice. "There were four of them. One told me that if I valued by life, I would go home now. I questioned Demetri's disappearance and he admitted to having kidnapped him. I was provoked and attacked. But it didn't take them more than a moment to get a hold of me that I could not break. They didn't attack but merely restrained. No matter how hard I fought, they did not even blink." He was whispering now. "One of them said, 'If you're so eager to join your friend, so be it. But we gave you a chance to walk away from this.' They took me here and dumped me inside, where I found Demetri."

I allowed myself to inhale deeply. This was more information than I had bargained for. I didn't want to talk, and thankfully, I didn't have to.

"I find it rather hard to believe that you fought as hard as you could and were unable to make them blink," Emmett said, sneering slightly. You're the Volturi leader, and supposedly the most powerful vampire in existence. Why couldn't you just kill them?"

"I am flattered that you keep me in such high standards and good views," Aro replied bitterly. "But you're forgetting an important fact."

"What?" Esme and Emmett asked in unison.

"That Marcus's mate Didyme was killed by the rogues many years ago," Demetri said, speaking for the very first time. I took note of his hoarse voice. "As well as Sasha and Vasilii from the Denali coven." I was suddenly very much alert to what he was saying. I _had_ forgotten about this. Clearly, so had Emmett, for he didn't make a peep.

"Say, help us with these chains, would you?" Aro requested. My brows creased in confusion.

"What chains?" I asked.

"Are you blind?" Aro spoke loudly and demandingly. "The chains that are keeping us from getting up. Look at our arms!" I did. I had to squint because it was very dark down by the floor. Indeed, there were heavy, silver chains, enveloping both Aro and Demetri's arms and connecting them to a small iron loop that protruded from the wall. I stood and observed Demetri, who continued to stare at the ground.

"Why can't you just break them?" I asked Aro, though my eyes were still on the tracker. "Surely it shouldn't be a problem for you."

"One of the rogues did something," Demetri said quietly. "She had a very unusual gift – she touched our faces, and instantly, we were drained of energy. At first, I could hardly lift my arms. She sort of…takes away your ability to move."

"I see…" I said, though I really didn't. Standing up straight, I walked over to Demetri. He looked up at me and his eyes were that of a man that had fought a hundred-year war.

"Hey! You've got to help us get free!" Aro demanded.

"No. Not right now." I tried to keep my voice as calm and cool as possible.

"What?!" he yelped in a rather high-pitched voice.

"I'll free you of the chains in due time, I promise," I said evenly. "But I need to ask Demetri some questions, and I cannot do this if you suddenly decide to escape. When I'm done talking with him, I promise I'll free you." Aro looked most displeased with this, but he was in no position to argue, though I could tell that he really wanted to. I turned to the tracker. "What happened after you left with the rogues?"

"They started telling me all about what I would have to do," Demetri said. His voice wasn't cold, but rather empty. "They told me about a young human girl – younger than your Bella but not young enough to be considered a child. They said they wanted her for a special meal, and that her scent was more intoxicating than that of a human baby." This surprised me. The scent of a human baby was the most powerful scent known to vampire, and nearly impossible to resist. It was the reason we were keeping Bella from seeing her newborn sister. "They also told me about all of their failed attempts to capture her. I was surprised – how hard could it be to get hold of a young human girl? Their tracker – Gage, I think – gave me one of her shoes to get a scent from. It was very different from anything I had ever come into contact with – more pleasant. It was the scent that drove them wild, they said. True, it was wonderful, but I had had far too much experience in the field of tracking to become too distracted by it. I suppose this is why they sought me out – they needed someone that could stay focused and on track." I could feel Esme trembling behind me and wrapped an arm around her waist to calm and reassure her.

"They dropped me off in a vacant place in Japan, where they supposedly last had her scent and wished me luck. The whole thing, I must admit, was far too easy." He paused. "I found the girl hiding in an old house and brought her to them. They said thank you so very much, have a nice day, but you won't be leaving this place alive. They gave me two options once the job had been completed – stay in this old house and keep quiet, or die. And here I am."

Someone exhaled. I didn't bother to see who it was. Edward took a step forward.

"The blood," he said, reading my silent curiosity. "You're covered in blood. How is this possible?"

Demetri scanned his own body and looked quite surprised to see the red staining his skin and clothing. "You seem shocked. Surely you do not believe that this is somehow my own blood?" The vacant expression on my face confirmed his inquiry. "I have not bled since I took the path of immortality. The blood you see here is the blood of the girl. She struggled quite a bit when I handed her over to the rogues." So obvious, how did I not see it? From the dark corner, Aro made an annoyed sound. Clearly he did not like being in such a vulnerable state.

"Right. Well, then, I suppose you ought to take a look at this." I reached into my pocket and pulled out the letter we had received. Bringing it under Aro's nose, I handed it to Demetri and watched as he read it, then handed it to his boss.

"Hmm…that is very disturbing," Demetri said thoughtfully. "To think that they would go all this trouble just to talk with Carlisle…most peculiar."

"Yes, we thought so too," Esme said carefully.

"Demetri, Aro," I said in a voice full of authority, "I'm going to need you to tell us everything possible that you know about these rogues. The letter said to come here and await, which suggests to me that they could be here at any moment. We need to be ready."

Aro rolled his eyes, but Demetri nodded. "Yes, I understand. Unfortunately there is not all that much to tell."

"Please do so anyways," I insisted firmly.

"Alright." Demetri paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. "I know that there are at least four of them, but I'm sure there are more. I'd take an educated guess at around seven, though. You'll know that from our letter, of course. There's a tracker, and I believe his name is Gage. He mentioned someone named Larnell as well. There's a woman who, as we have told you, has a power that drains you of your energy. Then Gage hinted at someone who is able to resist all special abilities completely. Shocking, isn't it? To think that someone out there can defy every single ability we throw against him?" I was at a loss for words. The moment Demetri mentioned the ability to defy our powers, I was reminded of the time Alice told me about Bella's abduction. _"I couldn't see him. I had no idea he was coming. I saw NOTHING!"_ Her voice was as clear as glass in my ears. _"she was exerting all of her force to push him away, but nothing did any good……I tried to hit him but he did something and I was blown back…I didn't see it coming. I should have. Just like he should have been stopped by our attacks."_

A shocking idea indeed. If the rogues had someone that was immune to the special abilities and attacks of vampires, did we have even a small chance? Demetri seemed to have noticed the horrified expression on my face because he added, "Don't worry, I'm sure it doesn't work like that. He can't really be immune to _every_ power."

"What else, Demetri?" Edward asked quietly.

"I think that's about it," the tracker said. "Gage _did_ constantly mention someone called 'the leader', but I suppose he was simply referring to whoever was in charge of their group."

"Yes, it seems like it," Esme said sadly. "Are you sure you don't know anything else?" She even cast a glance at Aro for help, but he simply grunted and turned away like a stubborn child.

"No, I'm sorry. I haven't seen any of them since they threw me in here. At first I hoped that maybe I'd find Alec in here as well, but that proved to be a letdown as well."

"Alec? What does he have to do with anything?" Emmett asked, curious.

"Oh, didn't we tell you?" Demetri asked, surprised. We shook our heads no. "Alec has disappeared. And in a different way than Aro and I or your Bella. He simply went hunting one day and didn't come back. We didn't spend all that much time looking for him, however, because the rogue situation arose soon after. Jane was furious."

I frowned and tried to make sense of all this. For some reason, I felt like Alec's disappearance had something to do with this, but I just couldn't find a place in the puzzle to squeeze this piece in.

"Things must be hectic back in Italy, then?" Esme asked sympathetically. But Demetri laughed.

"Not exactly. With Aro gone, Caius will have taken up the role as leader. Since no one back there knows where we are because Aro didn't tell them where he was going, no one knows where to look for us. Caius will take advantage of the situation and start running things his own way – the way he's always wanted them to be done, but Aro didn't approve. Trust me, things in Italy will be in top condition if we ever get back to them."

I didn't like how he used the word "if" instead of the word "when". Aro seemed to notice this as well, however, and took the opportunity to jump on my throat.

"We _could_ already be back there, if Carlisle would just break these damned chains! Come on, we've answered your questions and told you everything we know. Can't you just let us go already?!"

I considered it. Truly, I did. I considered breaking apart the chains and letting them go. Aro had a point – they had told us everything. They were weak, and would be of no use to us if there was a fight. Their presence was…unnecessary.

But I didn't move. It was Emmett who spoke next.

"Excuse us, but the four of us need to converse for a moment or two. It won't take long."

"Yes, of course," Demetri said politely. Aro, meanwhile, made a noise that sounded very much like a cross between a whine and a whimper. I had difficulty finding the strength and will and my legs to move, but eventually I did. Shaking slightly, I took the several steps back, until I was with the others in the corner opposing that where the two Volturi were sitting. The corner closest to the door through which we had entered. The old feeling returned to me – a slight chill and a humid surrounding at the same time. It was very uncomfortable.

"Well?" my voice was broken and hoarse as it whispered to the others, all of whom wore stony expressions on their faces.

"We can't let them go," Emmett said without hesitation. "How do we know that they're not in cahoots with these rogues?"

"Have you seen the state they're in?" Edward asked, his voice irritated. I could tell that he wasn't going to have lots of patience with his older brother today. "Besides, I read their mind. Everything they told us was the complete truth."

"So, I suppose we ought to let them – "

"No," Edward interrupted. "I was merely saying that they were not part of the conspiracy against us, and they are not in league with the rogues. But I don't think we can just let them go either."

"It's very typical of the Volturi though, isn't it?" Esme said thoughtfully. "They are the likely type to do a small little favor such as finding a human girl in exchange for priceless treasure like ancient golden blocks."

Edward kicked the floor furiously and I was surprised that the impact did not leave an indent in the ground. "Ugh! If only I got the chance to hear what one of the rogues was thinking, we'd have the whole thing figured out."

"What do you mean?" I asked quietly.

"Think about it! Alec's disappearance, Bella's kidnapping, the required tracking of a feeble but delicious smelling human girl, and a requested meeting with Carlisle! It all has to fit together somehow! If only I knew why they wanted you, Carlisle! That's the only missing piece."

Suddenly, Aro exhaled loudly. "That's it, I can't take it. If you won't free us, then I'll fight my way out." We walked towards him and watched as he struggled with the chain. To a vampire like me, it would be extraordinarily easy to break it, but Aro was extremely unsuccessful in his attempt. Demetri watched him with a bored look on his face. Aro seemed to have had enough with his lack of authority.

"Oh, are you eager to leave so soon, Mr. Volturi? You'll miss the entire party if you leave now."

We all froze. Edward, Emmett, Esme, Demetri, Aro, and I – we didn't make a single movement or noise. We were statues. The voice had erupted from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. From the walls and from the ceiling. From behind me and from in front. From the left and from the right. The whole room seemed to have been talking. There was a loud click and I could see something move up ahead. My body was frozen. I was paralyzed.

"You simply can't leave now. The fun is just about to begin."


	6. Chapter 5: Faces

**The Flawed Vampire**

**A Twilight Fanfic**

**By Feltbeat**

**As some of you may have noticed, I took my stories down for a while in order to make some changes to them, and then re-loaded them up. It was disappointing to lose all of my reviews and all, but I had to fix some awful mistakes that I made. But now everything is back to normal. Thank you to those that reviewed. **

**Hopefully the last chapter was nice and suspenseful and gave you some things to consider. But in this chapter, we move on to a different scenario. Enjoy chapter 6!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the original characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer. I do, however, own the plot and all of the OCs, as well as any original ideas and creativity. **

Chapter 5

Faces

Bella POV

When I opened my eyes, I could see nothing around me, and this frightened me beyond anything I have ever felt. And I have felt many feelings inside of me – some I'm sure were completely new to humanity up until this point. In fact, I couldn't remember feeling a fear quite like this since I thought we were all going to die in the fateful battle with the Volturi. That seemed so long ago now, and yet it was less than a year. Funny, how a prolonged chain of unfortunate events made everything seem to stretch out and linger.

I felt around for something, anything. As I attempted to move my body around on the cold surface, I heard the sound of a chain. When I increased my attempts, I noticed that the ropes of iron had been wound around a pair of cuffs, which in turn were locked around my wrists, behind me. The chain was thick and heavy, but I knew it wouldn't be a problem to break it. I had gone as far as smashing concrete boulders into utter dust in my relatively short time as a vampire, so the chain should have been a piece of delicious cake.

So it was odd…when I tugged at the links with a force that ought to have broken it, that nothing happened. Within seconds I was attacking my leash with full force, but was unable to so much as leave a scratch. I sat back on the floor, exhausted and confused. This felt far too much like before, when I had done everything in my intensified power to stop an attack, but I might as well have welcomed it with open arms. It was a long time since I had felt this weak and useless, and that was in my human days. Since my transformation, I had grown to expect so much more of myself in everything that I did, because I had the power to do it. I began to set certain goals for myself – goals that could not exist in a human life. Edward was of course against it, but….

Edward. If there was one thing that hadn't changed since that time, it was how I felt about him. It was my need to be with him, and to know that he needed me as well. To know that the way I felt about him was mutual between us, and to know that we could not exist without each other….it all brought a certain comfort into my life – a balance, a status quo.

The balance had shifted earlier. How long had it been since our awful fight back in the forest? A day, maybe more. I hadn't been conscious for most of the time to keep track. When the city came into sight, _he_ knocked me out cold. I rendered completely defenseless with him there, unable to fight or take flight. Hence, my guess at the passage of time could have been completely off, for all I knew. It was good to have some sort of idea, however. It helped to preserve whatever little bit of sanity remained in me.

Edward. How could I have said all of those horrid things to him? What was going through my mind that made me explode like that? I couldn't remember any more. Suddenly, it all felt so incredibly childish. I was an adult – a mother at that. Why had I acted in such an immature and irresponsible way? Edward most certainly did not deserve my harsh words. I could only faintly remember what it was that I'd said, but I knew it must have been really bad, for I would not be in my current situation if it were otherwise.

I didn't have the slightest of clues as to where I might be. My vision, which had been greatly intensified since my vampirization, seemed unable to pry apart the layer after layer of darkness that enveloped the surroundings. I could not see so much as a few inches away from my face, let alone a few feet. I supposed that I was in some sort of room, for I could feel that of a cold, probably wooden floor beneath me. There was no sign of a breeze or draft here, so there must have been some sort of walls there as well, providing insulation to the place. This, however, was as much as my dulled senses were capable to distinguish. Moving around got me nowhere – I proved hopeless in the attempt at breaking the chain. I didn't want to lie down though, having had plenty of that in my hours of unconsciousness. So I scooted myself over against the closest of the walls near me, and sat down, leaning my strangely sore back on it for support.

There wasn't much that I was allowing myself to think about. The Cullens were, of course, a forbidden topic. The very thought of seeing any one of them made me cringe. And Edward was on the top of the list. The guilt I felt was eating me alive enough as it was, and if I allowed my thoughts to come near his beautiful complexion or stunning crooked smile, I felt myself ready to heave. There were other forbidden things on that list too. Renesmee. Jacob. Charlie. Renee. My baby sister. Each time I came close to thinking of either, I wanted to slam my head hard against the wall.

With anything and everything that really mattered to me on the no-no list, I wasn't left with a lot of other options. I knew that I had to occupy myself somehow, or risk succumbing into a feeling of hopelessness and regret. Despite the fact that I knew such succumb was inevitable, I longed to prolong it for as long as I could. Going with the first thing that came to mind, I started to count seconds in French. It was a nifty little trick I learned from Alice, occupying the brain and –

I had thought her name. Alice. Leaning forward, I purposely hit my head on the wall. While I couldn't feel a thing, it reminded me of my priorities. Inhaling deeply, I concentrated unnecessarily hard on my counting.

_Vingt et un, vingt deux, vingt trois, vingt quatre, vingt cinq, vingt six, vingt sept, vingt huit, vingt neuf, trente…._

It even surprised me that after a while I began to feel a little better. My breathing returned to normal, despite the fact that I no longer needed it. And my hands, which had been previously trembling from too much emotion had been calmed, and were resting with ease in my lap. I even found a comfortable place to sit in, which was proving to be impossible previously.

So, what was going to happen now? I could allow myself so much as to think of the future, no matter how painful it may get. I had to have some sort of plan worked out in my head. I took an unnecessary glance around me. Alright, so escape was virtually out of the question at the moment. That left me with only one, rather unpleasant option – to sit here and await whatever would come next. I hated this; the vulnerability and exposure I felt weren't something this new body and mind were used to. Yet it was truly all I could do. Grouchy and ill at ease, I allowed myself to relax as much as possible against the wall.

Sitting there in the dark, I came as close to slumber as any vampire ever had. My eyelids were closed, and I had momentarily lost touch with reality. It wasn't actual sleep, of course, but the sort of milky atmosphere wore over me. When I heard the voice, however, all thoughts of rest vanished wholly from my head.

"Bring her in here, we'll keep her with the hostage." I didn't recognize the voice, but the speaker was female, and a vampire. I could tell that much. Only an immortal could speak with such accurate, and smooth fluency, making each word sound like a beautiful piece of artwork. "And for your own sake, _be careful with her_." The woman ended very strongly, emphasizing her last words very precisely.

"You…don't…know…how…much…I…want her!" a different voice hissed. Another vampire, this time male. I blinked at his words, for they got louder between each break, meaning only that they were coming closer. I hugged my knees against my chest and tried to make myself as small as possible.

"On the contrary, I know how you're feeling very well. Do not forget, we all feel the same, unbearable thirst. She would of course make a most tasty meal, the soft of her skin and the red of her blood is, I must admit, most appealing…." I shuddered. Never, in all of my life and encounters with vampires, had I heard such longing in their voices. Not when James had been hunting me. Not when Aro spoke with Edward and Alice. Not even when Edward spoke to me. This was an entirely new feeling – a lust that even I was starting to feel, simply from hearing the woman speak.

"Your words…do not help me…so say no more!" the male hissed again. "Just…get this…over with…" He certainly appeared to be having a hard time getting his words out. I'd heard this before…in the year that Edward and I first met, and he saved me from the group of men dressed all in black. He'd gotten with me into his car, breathing heavily, trying his best to resist attack…

"Calm yourself Cameron!" the woman demanded. They were very close now…I could hear them perfectly – not that it was ever a problem…. "Remember what her survival means to us."

Whatever the woman meant with her words appeared to have had a great effect on Cameron, who stopped breathing altogether, and sounded more put together. "Do we just dump her here, on the ground then? She gets no…I don't know…human things?"

"She will not be here long, Gage tells me that all is almost prepared."

And then they stepped out of the complete darkness, and into my sight.

I was right. I was completely right. Had the situation not been so very serious, I would have felt a surge of pride burst through me. But this was no time for that.

They were two of the most beautiful vampires I had ever seen. The woman looked around thirty years of age – one of the older immortals I have met – but was as beautiful as Rosalie. Her honey-blonde hair resembled Jasper's greatly, and hung down to her petite shoulders. She was tall – taller than me by a good foot and a half, with an impossibly small waist. She wore a black sequined top that glimmered even without the presence of light, and long black trousers that were tight against her legs. The face I looked up at was pale, and her deep red eyes met mine slowly.

I knew from meeting the Volturi that red eyes meant a certain diet – a carnivorous diet, so to say. It wasn't as though I was surprised, though. After all, if these were the rogues – and I had come to my own conclusion that they were – they had feasted upon fellow vampire blood. Of course they would have no problem killing and eating humans.

So it wasn't until I laid eyes on Cameron that I was actually taken aback. For one thing, he was gorgeous, every bit as handsome as any vampire I had ever known, even – dare I think it? Even Edward.

The thought petrified me. I had been looking at Edward as a sort of God in my world – a God whose beauty could not be matched, and certainly not beat. And yet here I was, looking at someone whose features appeared even more perfect than that of my husband's. His pale skin was flawless, and looked smooth and creamy. His lips were lusciously pink, and his eyes…his eyes…

His eyes were the reddest of all I had seen. Brighter than that of a _newborn_ vampire. My own eyes, which had not yet lost their crazed shade, must have looked dull and dim next to his. I tried hard to avoid making eye contact with Cameron – looking into his eyes was like looking into two blood-red suns.

"Good morning Isabella," the woman said casually, smiling down upon me. "Not that it's morning or anything. What time is it, Cameron?"

Cameron glanced at a watch on his wrist. "Three in the morning."

The woman frowned. "Huh. Alright, it is morning. But I wouldn't worry myself with the usual morning routing if I were you, darling," she said, addressing me. "You're going to be here for a while yet. But luckily for you, we brought you company."

I couldn't understand why I hadn't exploded yet with the millions of questions and demands that ran through my head. I couldn't find my own voice, not to speak or ask.

The woman and Cameron reached back into the darkness that was out of my sight, and bent down, as though picking something up. I heard a muffled grunt, and then with a THUD, a body rolled towards me. A human.

"She doesn't say much, but she's better company than the rats down here," the woman said idly. "Do try and be nice to her – she's pretty worked up." Smiling at me again, the woman started to disappear into the darkness. Eyeing me suspiciously, Cameron went after her.

"Wait! How do we know that the Cullen won't make a meal out of her? Can we really trust the two of them alone together?"

The woman paused. They were still within my range of sight, so I watched them with an expression that might have been a mix between eagerness and anger.

"I took care of her strength when she got here. She's chained to the floor – there won't be anything she can do. And the two of them are far apart enough – she won't reach her." The woman said this with a final tone, but Cameron still wasn't satisfied.

"I don't like it. Can you imagine what will happen if, after all we did to get her, we lose her?"

"Awful things, Cameron. Awful things. But they will not happen, rest assured. I trust Isabella to behave while we're gone," she said, casting another smile in my direction, which I did not return. "Don't you?" The look Cameron gave me told me that he didn't, but the woman was already in the dark. "Don't trouble yourself with it, Cameron. Learn to relax, and have faith in me." Cameron did not say anything more, but followed the woman rather unwillingly. I heard the creak of a door, footsteps, and then the turn of a key in a lock. So, they still felt the need to lock me in. Or to lock this human body in. Or whatever the hell their intensions were.

Beside myself in thought, I glanced down at the corpse in front of me. It was not actually a corpse, for I could smell the blood pulsing inside of her body. It was only a slightly inviting aroma, for I had recently hunted, and my thirst was satiated at the moment. That, and time had proved to be successful in taming my seemingly endless burn in the throat. The body was human – I could smell that clearly. And by the looks of it, she was female. But she was lying face down on the ground, so I could not take a guess as to how old she was. Was. She looked almost dead now. The way she lay on the ground, her leg bent under her in a very unnatural position, without making the slightest of movements…she was either very skilled at staying still or dead. And I knew it was not the latter.

The conversation I had witnessed just minutes ago had given me heaps of things to think about, the human they had left me with being only one. What stood out in my head the most was something that the woman had said… "I took care of her strength when she got here." Remembering those words and the order in which they were placed made me feel sick to my stomach. I didn't want to consider the possibility, but it seemed like the only reasonable explanation. The woman had a gift that could drain a vampire's strength.

The thought was most formidable, and I didn't like how real it sounded in my head. The fact that it made sense wasn't exactly pleasant either. I reminded myself that this _was_ the rogues we were dealing with, and that we already suspected them to be hoarding skills and gifts that were, as I liked to put it, cataclysmic. Carlisle said that they were responsible for the deaths of three very experienced, very ancient vampires. The Volturi were fearing for their lives when news of their reappearance broke. I shouldn't be surprised. No, I should be grateful that it was this woman that had "taken care" of me, rather than someone else. Very grateful.

When the figure in front of me stirred, I ceased all of the trains of thought in my brain. She moved only slightly, but I could tell by the expression that struck her face, it was still very painful. With trembling hands, I reached out, my body taking control of my mind. I couldn't stop what I was doing; the motion was set into play. Two things were happing simultaneously now – her head was lifting up, and my hands were being pulled forward by an invisible force. As soon as her eyes met contact with mine, there was a flash of movement, and her body skidded back a good ten meters, rolling in a rather uncomfortable-looking position. Once she stopped however, completely outside of my range of reach, she looked up back into my face.

She could have been pretty, had her face not been covered in layers atop layers of both dry and new blood, tears, and dirt. I was looking at the sight of someone who was living in hell on earth. Looking into her face, I swallowed hard.

"Please. Don't touch me." When she spoke, her voice was soft and hoarse. It was thanks to the mute silence around us that I heard what she said. Her body was shaking – not too hard, but certainly enough to be noticed.

"I was only going to help you," my voice felt like it belonged to a stranger. I no longer had control over what I said or did. "You must believe me, I'm not like the others. I am – if you can imagine it – a good vampire."

She wasn't crying any more, and so short-lived were the tears that it was possible I had imagined them in the first place. "Oh…yes, I have heard rumors of vampires that survived on animal blood…is that what you do?"

I nodded. "You seem very unsurprised to see me in the first place, and you appear quite comfortable with the idea of a vampire."

I hadn't done it on purpose, but clearly my remark was found humorous by this girl. As she neared me ever so slightly, I began to see the facial features hidden beneath all of the mess. She had very large, green eyes, and her pupils were rather dilated. Dark, thin eyebrows were on top, and higher yet I could see the ruffled, scraggly mess that was her dark brown hair, cut just below the shoulder. She'd probably had a decent haircut at one point or another, but now it looked very all over the place, with very choppy, uneven layers everywhere. Her cheekbones were positioned a little higher than the norm, and she had a very nicely shaped nose. Her lips were cut and swollen, but beneath that I saw patches of light pink. Overall, her skin was pale, and complexion petite. For a moment I felt a little self-conscious about my own appearance, until memory reminded me of my new flawless beauty. Had I been a human, I would have certainly been nothing compared to this girl, but next to me now, she rather much resembled a rag. Putting all of her features together, I gathered she was not much younger than I, perhaps seventeen or so.

Still laughing, the girl smiled for the first time, and I took note of her white teeth. "Oh, believe me, I am much more than comfortable around that word. I've been living in its reality for a good year or so now."

My face remained melancholy and under the influence of depression. But my curiosity was growing by the moment. "What is your name?" It was an off question, but I was eager to get a conversation started.

"Well, despite the fact that Larnell has some obsession with calling me 'Dinner', I still go by my birth name of Zoe." She smiled again. It was a lovely one – she had a face born to smile. It distracted from the rest of her demolished face.

I smiled too, and the muscles in my face felt awkward in doing so after such a long time. "I take it that Larnell is…one of them?"

Zoe nodded, her lips pressed in a thin line. "Yes. He's one of the more annoying ones…oh, who am I kidding? They're all plenty annoying in their own ways…" her voice drifted off, leaving a rather dreamlike trail behind.

"My name is Bella." But for me it was time to cut to the chase. "So…why are you here? They sounded almost…protective of you, but then again I heard a great deal of temptation in their voices. What is going on?"

Zoe sighed, and scooted closer to me again. There was no fear on her face. "They have been hunting me for a long time," she whispered. I leaned in slightly, to hear better. "I had no idea why at first – I was only a human, trying to live my life day after day. I didn't believe in the supernatural of course. But on my seventeenth birthday," I gave myself a mental high-five for estimating correctly, "my life turned into a roller coaster." She paused, and I gave her a nod of encouragement to continue. "I think it was Blix who was sent after me first. On the night of my party, I left the hotel for a bit of fresh air. He was there, waiting for me. I was stunned – he was nothing like what I had ever seen. Jet-black hair, pale white skin, enormous build, beautiful face, and piercing red eyes." Her description matched two people in my head – Emmett, without the red eyes, and the man who had abducted me from the forest where I'd been hunting with Alice. Since the latter seemed the much more likely of the two, I settled on that, and continued to listen.

"He was sent to capture me and take me back here, but he failed. See here, he couldn't resist. He tried to attack me." I looked to where she was pointing, and noticed a long, wide scar on her calf. It was but a scar now, but must have been horribly painful at the time. "Distracted with what he'd done, I took the opportunity and made my escape. He didn't pursue me, and I was left alone…for a very short time." It was at that point that I realized I hadn't taken a breath for a very long time, and did so for the sole purpose of keeping my sanity intact. "The very next day, a different vampire approached me. I never did find out who it was, my guess is Larnell. I don't know what their leader was thinking, sending that idiot out to do anything. He took a couple of snaps at me, damn near bit my ear off, and scampered away." She was quiet for a moment. "Since that time, for a good chunk of time, I'd been living out in hiding. When one of them found me, they usually became so occupied with my scent or some other ridiculous thing like that, and I was able to lose them quickly enough. Their tracker, Gage, was having some sort of issues keeping track of me, so luck helped me out there. But no matter where I hid, they would find me eventually. Their only problem seemed to be finding a way to find someone who could take hold of me, and bring me back without feasting upon my flesh. I suppose they outmaneuvered that little obstacle, though, because I'm here."

I blinked a few times, just to prevent myself from becoming overwhelmed. None of this was making any sense. Why would these rogues go to such lengths to get a hold of this human girl? "What happened?"

"Their leader had some sort of brilliant moment, and tricked the Volturi – I suppose you know who they are?" I have a faint nod. "He tricked them into allowing him to 'borrow' their tracker, Demetri. The best in the world, he's said to be. The leader used him to find me – which he did, mind you, with exceptional ease. Clearly _he_ didn't think there was something wrong with the way I smelled." She looked a little offended as she said this. "Anyways, he found me, and he caught me, and he brought me back here. I heard a rumor that _his_ header, Aro or something, got in the way, so they brought him as well. From the sound of it, they aren't in any better shape than I am. And they're like, what, centuries old?"

My mouth was numb. I couldn't feel my lips or tongue. It was all one slushy glop of matter that didn't belong to me. What this girl was saying…it wasn't possible. My mind could not conjure up an image of Aro and Demetri somewhere in this place, tied up and damaged. They were the _Volturi_. The Volturi did not crumble and fall apart at the hands of their enemy, and trying to believe that something of the sort had happened was proving fairly difficult for me.

"So now I'm here, with you. They told me to wait," Zoe finished on a rather awkward note.

"Wait for what?" I asked, despite the protest of my mouth. My question came out slurred, but at least I was able to form it in the first place. That had to be some sort of miracle.

Zoe looked into my eyes again, and this time there was no smile, no laughter, no amused grin. The emotion that I noticed a lack of from the start was now the dominant feature on her charred face – fear. She looked at me with those empty green eyes, and opened her mouth, answer ready.

I thought I died a little at that very moment, watching her lips form the words that should never be spoken by someone like her.

In the seconds that passed, I felt my heart crumble into pieces for Zoe – the human girl I'd known for a little less than an hour.


	7. Chapter 6: Fear

**The Flawed Vampire**

**A Twilight Fanfic**

**By Feltbeat**

**Thank you to those who reviewed – you've motivated me to keep writing the next chapter. **

**Alright. So, you've met Zoe, but who is she? And what was she about to say at the end of last chapter? It's time to begin to put all of the pieces together.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the original characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer. I do, however, own the plot and all of the OCs, as well as any original ideas and creativity. **

Chapter 6

Fear

Carlisle POV

No one moved, or breathed for that matter. In a room full of immortals, neither was really a necessity. However, when the voice was heard – all movement ceased entirely. I couldn't get a grasp on how the others reacted, for I was far too lost in my own emotions to pay attention to those of the others'.

"I'm so very glad to see _you_ here, Doctor Cullen," the voice said. I stared up ahead into the darkness, even though there was no identified source to the voice, which was so familiar that I was bit myself on the tongue. The name was on the very tip, and yet I failed to put the letters in the correct order to form anything that made sense. It was light and had an airy presence to it, and appeared to be emitted from the walls themselves. No matter which way I directed my hearing in, the voice was just as prominent and strong, and seemed to be everywhere at once. I needed something to look at, however, so I found a little spot in the darkness and concentrated on it, trying not to allow my feelings to get the better of my common sense. Right now, it was crucial to remain as cool and level-headed as possible. Our lives depended on it.

"You did well not to bring anyone who was not related to you. You can't imagine how glad we are that you're here." The voice paused, and then continued, with same easygoing, pleasant tone that I distrusted immediately. "You already know that Mrs. Cullen has been staying with us for a while. You will be pleased to know that she is safe and unharmed. For now." I felt my fists clench together and the veins protrude from my skin. They way this seemingly male voice phrased it, he made it sound like Bella was here on her own accord, as if on vacation, whilst the case was the very contrary.

Aro made the slightest attempt to move closer to Carlisle, who held up a hand, halting him. The actions didn't go by unnoticed. "Oh, and I see that you have become acquainted with Mr. Volturi and Mr. Volturi. Yes, they have been most helpful to us. As I hope you will be, Doctor Carlisle." I tensed slightly more than I already was, but took a deep breath, hoping to bring some sense into my overburdened mind. Behind me, I felt Emmett shift slightly, bringing his position closer to Edward and Esme. It wasn't until then that I realized how far away I was from them – a good five meters. Had they backed up at some point, or did I come forward? Now was not the time to contemplate these things, however.

"Doctor Carlisle, if you would like to receive Mrs. Cullen back safe and sound, we need to form some sort of understanding with each other. Otherwise, this can never work out."

I felt a lump in my throat, and when I spoke, my voice felt dry and hoarse. "I'm listening." I was, in fact, listening harder than I ever had in my entire life. The problem was, every word the voice spoke sliced through my mind like a dagger, piercing my train of thought and making it hard to remain whole and intact. Someone moved behind me – I couldn't tell who, but it looked like Esme. Demetri gave what was probably an involuntary yawn.

"Good. Very good. I'm thrilled at your cooperation. But if this is to go by smoothly and without harm, we need to be able to trust one another. That means that we will keep a promise if you will keep a promise, both of which will work in both of our favors. Do you follow?"

I nodded, for I was sure that whoever was speaking had an excellent view of us and what we were doing. Just to be safe, I added in my pained voice, "Yes."

"Terrific. First of all, you have my word that as long as you cooperate with us to the end, Mrs. Cullen will remain in the perfect condition that we borrowed her in." I glared into the dark at the term "borrowed." I heard Edward inhale sharply as well. I didn't need to see them to know that their attention was one hundred percent on what was happening. "Will you agree to this first term of agreement? As long as you do as we ask, you have my promise that Isabella Cullen will not receive so much as a scratch on her beautiful skin."

There was no need to deliberate on anything. The answer was crystal clear, even though it stuck in my throat for a considerable few seconds. "Yes."

"Splendid. Most splendid." The utter politeness in the tone was overdone far too much for anything it said to be genuine. I kept this thought in mind, and it helped to bear listening to all of the outrageously fake things the voice was saying. "Now then…do you have any suggestions that we can use to help build a trusting relationship between us?"

"Don't hurt my family. Don't lay a finger on any of them," I said without skipping a beat. I _tried_ not to sound demanding or pushy, but I had been provoked too far to stop the words that came from my mouth.

There was a soft chuckle. "Of course. I expected no less from the great Doctor Carlisle. Very well. You have my word that we will not harm anyone you have brought with you. Again, we will not ask for anything more than your cooperation in return for this little agreement. Does that sound fair to you?"

I had absolutely no reason to trust this person. For all I knew, as soon as they got what they wanted, they would slaughter us like pigs. They could promise us whatever they wanted, and I knew my answer would remain the same. Bella's life was at stake, and that was all that mattered. "Yes."

"Marvelous. Simply marvelous. I'm glad that we have been able to peacefully establish these guidelines for us." Guidelines. The way the voice took these absolutely awful things and twisted them to sound into something much less horrible sickened me. What just happened wasn't an establishment of guidelines, but an easily masqueraded way of them saying, "Do what we tell you or we will kill Bella." The fact of the matter was so very simple. Did they really thing we were so stupid that we would not see the truth? Despite the current situation, I found it in myself to feel offended, and instantly felt repulsed with myself. I wished someone would slap me across the face – I certainly needed a good reality check. "If you will just wait a moment then, Cullen family…" The voice trailed off quietly, leaving a ghastly echo afterwards that lingered for a full minute. It took even longer before I could regain movement in my joints and turned around.

Esme stared into my face with the most horrified expression I'd ever seen on her lovely features. Emmett looked perplexed, twisting his fingers in his hands – a clear sign of anxiety. And Edward…he was suddenly made of stone. He kept his face indifferent, but I knew he felt otherwise.

"Alright, is it just me," Aro said out of nowhere, reminding me of his presence, "or does that voice sound particularly familiar? It seems like I heard it just yesterday.." His question took me by surprise. So it _wasn't_ just me who noticed.

"Was it one of the rogues that came to talk to you about taking Demetri?" Emmett asked, his mouth hardly moving at all.

"No. I remember those voices perfectly, and this one doesn't match. It does sound awfully familiar, however. I just can't place the name to the voice," Demetri said slowly. We stood there in obsolete silence for a good five minutes, with only Aro's occasional stirring.

So quiet was the atmosphere around us that when noise finally broke it, everyone jumped up – or moved suddenly – in one way or another. While the darkness around us appeared to be getting denser, I began to make out the faintest glimmer of yellow light somewhere across the room. It started out small, even despite its distance, but eventually began to grow larger, forming a sort of rectangular outline. I made no movement towards it – fear was blocking my senses altogether, and it was enough of a challenge to keep my eyes open, looking at the sight before me.

With a small, but rapidly increasing amount of light in the room, I began to make out the proximity of the size of the room we were in, as well as details that before were impossible to catch. The place was rather large, with each wall measuring a good eighty feet in length. We were located on the wall east of the entrance, which appeared miniscule now.

As more light poured into the room, I saw that the floor we stood upon was in fact concrete, but divided into giant squares, like cement plates that one would normally see on a sidewalk, only much larger. What was happening now was incredible. One of the squares on the side opposing our little posse was sliding down and to the side, as in doing so, revealed what looked to be a tunnel, glowing in a reddish sort of light that was now bursting through. I felt captivated by the sight and was unable to take my eyes off of it.

"In you go, then," the voice said, again coming from nowhere and everywhere simultaneously. The tunnel stared into my eyes in both an inviting and menacing way. I honestly wanted to do anything but retreat down the steps that led into the unknown, but I knew I had no choice. Bella was my daughter, for whom I would risk my life up until the end.

Bella POV

The door opened up a tiny crack, but no light shone inside on our domain. "Only a few more minutes, darlings. I expect _you're_ feeling quite the excitement, aren't you princess?" the voice spoke softly, addressing Zoe. "Not to worry, it won't be long." Chuckling under his breath, the figure retreated away, closing the door quietly behind him.

Next to me, I heard a strange sound come from Zoe's mouth. It sounded strangled, chocked.

"Why is this happening?" I wondered aloud. "Why do they want you? Why do they want to do this to you?"

She turned towards me, her face indifferent. "I don't know. I don't know. For some reason, they seem to think that if they make me immortal, it will give them some sort of advantage. They think that they can use me as a tool for their doings. I haven't a clue how they came about to believing these crazed ideas, but believe they do, and with all of their hearts. When they were hunting me, they took very good care not to hurt me too much. The leader thinks that if he makes me a vampire, I will stand by him in his quest for…whatever it is they're questing for."

I didn't breathe. My hands felt colder than ever. "And you aren't scared?"

That was the wrong thing to say.

As soon as the words escaped my mouth, Zoe's face fell entirely, and her facial expression turned into that of a most corrupt soul. "I'm petrified." She looked it, too. Her entire body began to tremble lightly, and she let herself slide down to the floor, lying down atop it. Her eyes bored into mine, and yet they appeared dazed and far away at the same time. Never in my entire life had I seen such evident, great fear on anyone's face. All of her features had shifted into their negative states, making her look like she'd just come back from hell. "I've never been this scared in my life." As she shook, I noticed tears fall from her eyes, landing on the floor. The chains she was attached to made soft clinging noises with each of her movements. I had never seen anything so broken in all of my life. In an instant, I felt my heart give way. "I don't want this to happen, but it is," Zoe whispered to me in a forced voice through gasps of tears. "I…I don't want to become a vampire….I'm so scared…. I fear the pain that will come – the pain that I can't do anything about." More tears poured down her face, and when she looked up at me again, all I wanted to do was die. To escape having to see this poor girl like this. It was beyond what even my advanced brain could handle. "I…I don't want to hurt….I don't want to feel the pain…I'm frightened of it. I…I don't…want…" her voice trailed off in another quiet sob, and she closed her eyes so tightly it was a miracle her eyelids didn't rip.

"Zoe…I…" But the truth was, I couldn't think of anything to say that would be of any comfort to her. She was right. If the rogues wanted to change her, there was little anyone could do about it. She was powerless to stop it.

And that made me want to die all over again.

"I don't want this," she whispered, her face soaked in tears now, and hair a rugged mess. "I don't want it. No pain. No…"

The door opened again, this time all the way, and several figures started to come down the stairs.

"It's time."

Carlisle POV

"What about us?" Aro cried in a rather desperate voice as the four of us started to walk forward in a melancholy fashion. He struggled with his chains a little bit, and looked quite pathetic at the moment. I would have to remember this scene – if I would live to remember anything.

"Oh, I almost forgot about you, Mr. Volturi and Mr. Volturi. My sincerest apologies go out to you. Please, feel free to join our lovely Cullen visitors," the pleasant voice said. It took me a moment to understand the real meaning behind the words. Silently, I walked forward, and with a single yank, tore the chains connecting Aro and Demetri to the wall. Wobbling slightly, the ancient vampires stood up. It seemed as though they hadn't been standing on two feet for quite some time. For a moment I wondered if they were going to take off, but they didn't say anything, and merely started to head our way.

We went down three flights of stairs in a reddish sort of light that I now realized was given off by torches, placed carefully on the holders attached to the walls. There was nothing to be seen but the stairs up ahead. Ten, twenty, fifty steps later, we were still climbing downwards. I wondered just how low we were going to go – we must have been a good mile beneath ground level already.

I halted my gait so that Aro and Demetri passed us, and I was walking next to Esme. I didn't say anything, and nor did she. There was no need for words. I took her hand into mine and gave it a light squeeze as we went farther down yet. It was then that I realized the staircase was winding as we went down, spiraling every few steps.

At last we reached a door. It looked dark brown with mixes of red, but that was probably due to the hues in the atmosphere. Their presence made it impossible to tell what the real color was, but that was of no matter.

"Through the door, if you please, Doctor Cullen," the voice said, and without stopping to think twice, I walked forward and turned the knob, pushing the door open and stepping through. Where had this sudden bravery and determination come from? I had no clue.

We were in a large room. That would be a very narrowed down way of putting it, of course, for it was much more than large and much more than a room. A secluded arena was more like it. Lit very slightly by the occasional torch, I could see a figure in the center. Long rows of few stairs made a large square that led down to this center. It wasn't until we neared a torch, however, that I noticed in greater detail what was around us. The floor was made of pure marble, hard and cool. There were marble columns in each of the four corners of the depressed square in the center, reaching up all the way to the ceiling, in the center of which hung a gorgeous chandelier. Real candles were in the holders, lit by tiny little flames that glimmered in the dark. I could see intricate designs carved into the sides of the walls, forming beautiful pictures and artwork.

"Come forward please." Now that we were in such a large room with so little in it, the voice gave off longer, more prominent echoes that lingered in the air for several seconds, giving it a more ghastly, frightening sound. We did as we were asked – no, told – and flocked forward together like a group of pigeons. I supposed that I was unanimously assigned the job of the leader. Under normal circumstances Aro might have challenged this, but now he merely stood behind the others, looking uneasy and anxious. Inhaling deeply, I took a step forward, separating myself from the safety and comfort of the others' nearness. The figures up ahead were dark and cloaked, so that I could see absolutely no features. I had to give it to them – the rogues certainly knew how to brew up the perfect amount of fear in the atmosphere, and that was clearly what they wanted. Not wanting to give them the satisfaction of knowing this, however, I raised my head slightly and took a few more steps forward. That was perhaps pushing my limits a little, but my common sense was hiding somewhere at the moment.

"You did well, Doctor Carlisle. I must admit, I am very pleased with how well everything turned out. So far you have kept your promises, and so far I have kept mine. Bring them in!" The last sentence was not addressed to me, but to one of the figures in the center of the square, who hurried off into the darkness. I could hear the clinging sound of chains, and the figure returned, dragging something along with it. It was too dark for me to make out anything, and clearly someone had realized this, for in an instant, the chandelier lit up thrice as bright, making the layer of black lift immediately.

I regretted this instantly.

There was Bella. I saw her as clearly as I saw Esme beside me, but what it was that I saw took me by such surprise that my entire body shifted backwards a little.

It was Bella. It was the expression of worry on her face. It was her scraggly appearance and lack of vampire glossiness.

It was the stranger next to her – a human, who was lying on the marble ground. It was the way she trembled slightly. It was the tear-stained eyes and dirty hair on her head. It was the expression of hopelessness and dread on her face.

All of these things sliced through my heart as clean as a razor blade. It was one of those scenes that you knew you would never forget even after just one glance.

There have been many times that I wished to be able to read minds the way Edward could. To be able to know just what was going on in someone's head appeared like the ideal supernatural power. But right now was not one of those times. Right now I would pay big money _not_ to be able to hear what went on in the two girls' heads.

What was happening? What was going to happen? What may happen but could be avoided? Answerless questions clouded my mind, and never before had I wanted to escape life as much as I did at that very moment.

I probably would have remained in such an awful state of confusion if it were not for Edward, whose voice broke the seemingly endless silence.

"Bella?"

I had eyes for nothing and no one but the two girls in front of me. They looked so different, and yet they both had a certain emotion in their eyes that I couldn't quite place a name to. They knew something that we did not. And it wasn't good either.

"Bella, darling?" I couldn't make myself turn around and look at Edward's face. The internal battles I was fighting with all of the different emotions inside of myself took up far too much of my energy, so there was very little that I actually could do at the moment. Not the best position to be in, of course, but the only one my body felt capable of existing in at the moment.

"Bella?" I wanted Edward to stop talking. Silence was far better to hear than the agony and pain in his voice as he formed the sounds of an all too-familiar name. Our reason for being here.

"Edward…" she whispered. When she spoke, it sounded like the final words of someone on their deathbed. Tears spilled over the edge of her eyes, leaving traces of their lines on her pale, dusty face.

"Tell me this isn't happening," Edward said, and there was a very desperate note to his tone. "Tell me that what I am hearing is but a figment of my imagination."

Bella said nothing, crying quietly and letting her tears drop onto the marble floor.

"Please Bella! Tell me this isn't true!" Edward all but screamed, and his voice was shrill – so much more than I had ever heard it. Knowing that whatever he was talking about made him react in this way made me want to know the truth less and less.

I saw Bella put a hand gently on the shoulders of the girl beside her. It was hard for me to make an exact guess, but I suspected for her to be right around Bella's age – eighteen or so. She looked like hell.

"Well, now. It's great to have everyone together like this, isn't it? As you can see Doctor Carlisle, Mrs. Cullen has been kept unharmed and untouched, as I have promised," the voice said, coming from the walls all over again. I felt Esme jump in surprise next to me. "But I believe that now it is your turn to fulfill our part of the bargain."

I swallowed hard and stepped forward once more. "What do you want?"

Although I could not see him, I felt sure enough to stake my life on it that the owner of the voice was now smiling widely.

**Don't kill me. I know this chapter was crap, but I'm having a pretty bad case of writer's block. I know I can write better than this, but…yeah. **

**R&R people!**


	8. Chapter 7: Wash Away

**The Flawed Vampire**

**A Twilight Fanfic**

**By Feltbeat**

**Sweet. Thanks for the reviews, people. My apologies for the huge gap between updates. But you know how it is – things to do, places to go. I had some free time today, so here is chapter 7 for you. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the original characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer. I do, however, own the plot and all of the OCs, as well as any original ideas and creativity. **

Chapter 7

Wash Away

Carlisle POV

I _must_ have been going insane. Or crazy. Mentally instable. Becoming affected with Alzheimer's. One of those must have been taking place, for there was no other reason why suddenly the room appeared to be filled with the sound of heartbeats. The pumping of blood created by a fleshy organ obstructed my hearing. It seemed to come from everywhere – from the ceiling, from beneath my feet, from the left, from the right, and even from inside my own body. If someone were to speak at that precise moment, I highly doubted that I would hear it. How could this be _possible??_

Then I noticed that my eyes had not left that of the pathetic human girl who lay on the floor before us. Her pupils were dilated and she was breathing hard. The more I looked at her, I began to almost see her heart pounding out of her chest, threatening to break open the rib cage and thrust itself out. It was her heartbeat that pounded in my ears. It was, as I looked into those fearful, scarred, mutilated eyes that I felt her pain and her suffering. Esme eyed me with a worried glance as I felt myself sway on the ground, feeling lightheaded and nauseous and surreal all at once.

I knew Edward knew it all – he had to have, groping through the minds of the enemy around us. He must know exactly what they were planning and how they hoped to achieve it – and yet my throat was suddenly deprived of all moisture, and the ability to ask him anything was buried under mounds of sand.

My eyes did not break from that of the human girl's. I stared so hard that it was almost painful – as if I was trying to send her the will to go on through an inconspicuous method. She blinked, and a pair of tears escaped each eye, smearing the dirt on her face and leaving salty streaks behind.

That broke me wholly.

I sank down to my knees, trembling from head to toe as a mixture of emotions too powerful to be described washed over me completely. My entire body was aflame. I had hoped that the pain would make me go numb, but instead it raged endlessly through every square inch of my skin. I barely felt Esme squeeze my hand reassuringly and pull me back up to my feet. At least, I suppose that is what she did, for the pain made it impossible for me anything but the knives sticking into each and every one of my limbs.

Looking up to the ceiling – despite that the voice did not come from there any more than it did from anywhere else – I felt my eyes droop, swollen and dark. "What in hell have you done to this poor child?" I could not believe that the voice I was hearing belonged to me. Rather, it sounded like that of an old, sick, dying man who had seen one tragedy too many. "What are you going to do to her?" hoarse and thick with pain, my voice broke in several places. I realized just how weak and vulnerable I must have looked in front of my family and Aro and Demetri, but that was the least of my worries at the moment.

It was silent for a mere moment before a booming laugh erupted from all around, echoing off of the walls and ricocheting back towards us. It was a whole different kind of laugh indeed – deep and hearty for the most part, with an occasional squeak thrown in here and there. When, after what seemed like decades, the laugh finally began to recede, I glared back up at the ceiling. Who the hell did this guy think he was?

We heard a sniff, preceded by regular speech. "Oh, come now, Doctor Carlisle. I don't ask _you_ what you do in your spare time, do I?" A few more guffaws followed. "But I suppose there is no better time than now to explain to you what we have kept secret for more than six centuries."

Edward, Emmett, and the two Volturi straightened up, seemingly curious. But Esme remained by my side, which continued to twitch occasionally. My back was bent at an uncomfortable angle, but that awful pain was still there, keeping me from doing anything much. The dark figures standing next to Bella and the human girl shifted ever so slightly – a movement that couldn't be caught by the ordinary eye – and in doing so brought themselves closer to the two young girls.

"Life began for our kind sometime during the late fourteen hundreds," the voice began. I lifted my head a bit, trying to pay as much attention as I could. Aro gave a contradictory _humph_ from behind us, which did not go by unnoticed. "I am not referring to the beginning of the vampire race, Mr. Volturi, which I am aware began much before that. I am referring to the start of _our_ kind. The rebels. The rogues. Those who did not wish to comply with the wretched rules and preposterous limits _you_ have set up!" Silence became dominant once more – even Aro didn't make a peep. That was…quite a statement.

"The name of the first idealist was Attuk the Impure. I am sure the name rings a bell for you, Mr. Aro. I believe you have had the privilege of meeting with him one fine day." As he said this, the sound of the voice appeared to have become quieter in the center of the squared arena, and more prominent in the area that neared Aro himself, singling him out. Aro's eyes darted back and forth nervously, but with the finale of that statement, the volume spread out equally again everywhere. "The Volturi already had laid out quite the foundation for rules and regulations that the immortal blood drinkers would have to obey. For centuries, these rules were the law for our kind, and those who broke the laws were severely punished.

"But one had to wonder – who gave the Volturi the power to be so powerful? What made them worthy to create the rules of the game, and what made the rest of us helpless pawns? There was no written contract giving this ancient, but no more extraordinary family the power to regulate and control a world far more supernatural than anyone had ever thought.

"Of course, I'm sure that it didn't quite hit the market right away. Alone, an Aro was just an Aro, wasn't he? Caius just Caius, and Marcus just Marcus. It wasn't until these three cripples began to recruit others into this little cult that the power really began to come in. Jane and Alec have quite formidable talents, do they not? And dear old Demetri was hardly a piece of chopped liver. I'm quite certain, in fact, that the Volturi would not have been able to find such great skill by themselves. Oh, no. No, they achieved all of this – the power, the glory, the intimidation – because of one man. Eleazar Denali." A few moments off utter nothingness passed.

"As I'm sure you're already aware, Mr. Eleazar had the very useful skill of intuition when it comes to gifts. Not only could he tell the special talents of other vampires, but he could also do it with humans, to some extent. It was Mr. Eleazar who was responsible for the gathering of undoubtedly some of the strongest vampires in history. It was because of Mr. Eleazar that the Volturi came to be as they are today." I could tell that we were all hanging on every one of his words now, completely engrossed in the story.

"Of course, I'm sure that the Volturi didn't _mean_ to become the self-righteous bastards that they currently are." I fought the urge to grin as Aro flinched in dismay. "At one point or another, I'm positive that they truly cared about protecting our world from exposure and threat, and truly wanted to try and keep things in order. But in time, as they got more and more powerful recruits and influenced more and more others, they got greedy and selfish, and stopped caring for anything but themselves." Aro opened his mouth, probably to argue what seemed to me like the absolute truth.

"Shut up!" Edward barked at him in a hushed voice before Aro had the chance to say anything. Taken aback and startled, Aro unwillingly complied.

"The vampire population became just about dominated by the Volturi. Certainly, trouble brewed in places here and there, and rules were bent and broken. All of these incidences, however, were followed by numerous executions without fair trials – courtesy of the Volturi's little cloaked pawns.

"No one had a say anymore in what they could and couldn't do. The law was undisputable by anyone outside the Volturi Coven, and those who still had a mind of their own were taken out of the picture. Soon it would seem that the Volturi would have achieved a perfect world, with the vampire society on their knees before them and all of the power imaginable at their disposal.

"Attuk the Impure had always been a nomad. He never stuck with a group that exceeded three others, and had no intention of ever doing so. He was also one of the few remaining vampires who did not give in to the power of the Volturi, one of the few who had not been brainwashed into thinking that they are the law and that that law must be obeyed. He was one of the few who still had a mind of his own – and a brilliant one at that. You see, Attuk believed that as the superior race of the world, vampires ought to live by their own rules as individuals. He believed in a world where the power to do whatever one wanted, whenever one wanted should never be contained nor limited. Looking around him, he saw his own mate slip under the influence of the 'oh so mighty' and 'oh so powerful' Volturi. It broke his heart, seeing all of this talent wasted – restricted, bound by a superficial constitution that was made by superficial royalty. He came to the Volturi one day – angry and frustrated, and explained his feelings, hoping to change the way the Volturi were running things. He was made the laughing stock of the coven, and they threatened him to either leave or die. Attuk knew what he had to do. He had to show them – and the world – that no matter how many powerful recruits the Volturi get, freedom and liberty will never cease to exist. A fight broke out, in which Attuk skillfully killed one of the wives – Didyme." I heard Aro inhale sharply and quickly and wondered if he was mentally recollecting what we were hearing.

"Attuk fought with bravery and courage unlike any other – because instead of fighting for himself, he was fighting for the rights and freedoms of others, for all of those who were too far lost in the Volturi's deception. Most unfortunately, dear old Attuk was killed in the battle by a fighter called Santiago. It was days after the event that the Volturi christened Attuk as Attuk the Impure, claiming that his vampire values and loyalty to his kind were full of filth – toxic and impure.

"But news of Attuk's brave encounter with the rotten royal swine did not go unheard of. Many nomads and clans received word of what had happened, and began to question the Volturi as well. Did the laws they create really benefit our society, or were they simply created to keep the Italians at the top of the pyramid? The more people thought about it, the more doubts they began to have.

"Of course, the Volturi – being the obnoxiously ignorant fools that they are – no offense, Mr. Volturi – were oblivious to the fact that some people were slowly converting, changing the way that they think. Attuk's sacrifice paid off – he planted the ideas in every vampire's head. Those who felt the strongest about regaining their rights, or those whose minds were never clouded in the first place, began to seek out one another, and formed a small but formidable group.

"There was ever only one goal in mind – destroy the Volturi, and get back out God-given right to decide for ourselves. Then, eventually we will create swarms of strong vampires, colonizing the planet. We will capture and breed humans, so that we may feast upon them daily, without secrecy and without spending our lives in hiding. We will get back the spoils and riches of life that we – as the supreme species – deserve. It is the way that things ought to be – but are not."

What started out as a speech that I could completely sympathize with, ended on a note of lunacy. No one spoke, and I wondered if it was because they were too scared to do so, or because they were too taken aback at what they just heard. The pain that seared through my body was only merely distracted by the story, and my mouth still felt like it was sewn together without any anesthesia.

"Century after century, the rogues have been meeting together in secrecy, working out plans to destroy the Volturi and restore the freedom of our kind. Members came and went, what with some being discovered and executed, and others simply leaving on their own free will. _This_, however, is the biggest group of rogues ever formed in the history of existence. I myself was only recently introduced to this new way of thinking.

"We had a good chance to think things over, and it soon became clear that although we were as ready as we ever would be to take on the Volturi – a reasonably large group, talents that are unheard of – it was clear that we would be unable to win. That is why, about a year ago, we invited an old friend over here to do us a favor. Eleazar came willingly, curious as to what we wanted. I told him that we needed one more recruit – the most formidable one he could find. It needed to be a human, I said, because we needed to gain this person's loyalty from the very beginning. We would transform this human, nurture and care for him as he was a newborn – and raise our ultimate weapon.

"It wasn't easy to find someone who fit our qualifications. Eleazar traveled through most of the western hemisphere, prowling through the mounds of humans, searching for one whose capabilities as a vampire would be most beneficial to us. It wasn't until he hit the northern region of Canada that Eleazar caught a break. Out in the tundra, living miles away from normal civilization, he discovered a young human. The moment he caught the scent, he knew this was the one."

As soon as he said these words, I bit down on my tongue hard – possibly all the way through. The moment of realization took me by such surprise that I was even able to ignore the fire raging through my body for a few moments, no matter how mere. From that very second – with the last word that escaped through that formidable mouth – I knew. It fit together so perfectly in my head that there was no doubting it. And yet, I could not make myself think it this horrid truth, afraid that if I did, my head would surely explode. _It can't be!_

"She was devilishly hard to get. As I'm sure you're well aware, she reeks of mouthwatering aroma that is damn near impossible to resist. My own recruits were unable to bring her to me. That is why I called upon yet another old friend – Mr. Demetri Volturi." I allowed my eyes to travel back into the darkness, seeking the tracker's face. It was still and sedentary, carved into stone. "Mr. Demetri was absolutely wonderful when it came to finding and capturing our human, and brought her back to us safe and sound. Mr. Aro, however, got a little temperamental with us, so we invited him to stick around for a while as well." I could tell easily just how fake all of this was. Aro and Demetri had already told us what happened, and I had no reason to trust these rogues over them.

"So you see, this _was_ all thanks to Mr. Eleazar. He _was_ a great help to us, and without him we probably wouldn't have been able to get this far this fast. Mr. Eleazar _would_ be pleased."

I didn't miss how he accented heavily on the adjectives surrounding Eleazar's name, which brought an uneasy feeling to my stomach.

"Was?" one of us spoke for the first time. Emmett.

The voice chuckled lightly and pleasantly. "Yes, well…Mr. Eleazar's usefulness was quickly brought to an end as soon as we received our trump card. Larnell…"

From within the darkness, past where Bella, the human girl, and their shadowy guards were, a new figure emerged. He had a very average built to him, dark brown skin, black hair that was trimmed in a buzz cut, and piercing red eyes. That wasn't quite what stood out about him most, however. It was the wicked grin of success on his face, plastered unnaturally and unevenly from cheek to cheek. It was manic and crazed, almost fearful to look at. It wasn't until my eyes traveled down to his hand that I truly felt on the verge of death.

Eleazar's head – decapitated from the rest of his body, which was nowhere to be seen – hung down from the tips of his hairs, which in turn were grasped tightly in Larnell's fist. Bone and flesh protruded from the clean cut of the neck. His eyes rolled back in his head, looking lost in oblivion.

"I thought you should get the privilege of watching the death of the man who helped the putrid Volturi rise to power," the voice spoke pleasantly. Larnell's Cheshire cat grin spread out even more, if that was possible. From within his pocket he withdrew a lighter with his free hand, clicked it once, and set Eleazar's head on fire.

We all heard it – that awful, high-pitched scream as Larnell tossed the burning head into the air, where it remained suspended for a few seconds. As the scream began to recede, the head was now entirely gray, and no facial features could be distinguished. It fell to the ground with a thud, and then disintegrated into a small heap of ashes.

Staring at that little gray pile, I found myself completely incapacitated. Unable to speak or move or even take a voluntary breath. I became temporarily worried that my recent lack of movement may very well turn me into a statue. Somehow, this particular execution seemed very different from when we all witnessed Irina's. I couldn't quite place it, although it seemed like it was right in front of me. I dared myself to sneak a peek at the human girl. Her eyes were wide, soaking with silent tears, and her pupils darted back and forth in fast, rapid movements, staring at the place where Eleazar's head used to be. I could only imagine how much more horrific all of this was for her than it was for us. Bella, too, looked petrified at what just occurred, but was more composed than her companion – although granted that didn't take much.

An awful stench started to seep from the pile of ashes, smelling like charred flesh and death. I was sure that we could all smell it, but no one was stupid enough to comment on it.

"Now then, Doctor Carlisle – perhaps we should get to business. Time is limited, and we have lots to accomplish." God, I hated that pleasant tone of voice this guy used! For someone who hated the way the Volturi worked with such a passion, he was acting a hell of a lot like them. "I trust you recall the promises we made to one another earlier. I swore to you that I wouldn't hurt Mrs. Cullen. I even agreed not to harm the rest of your family. The only thing I asked you in return was that you did everything I asked you to. Am I correct so far?"

I didn't know whether or not he was really expecting me to answer, but supposed it was better to be safe than sorry. From somewhere within me I found the ability to speak, and mustered up as much of that capability as I could. "Yes."

"Terrific. What I'm going to ask you to do will be quite simple for someone of your abilities. I want you personally to change this human girl into a vampire."

If I had ever at one point in time felt frozen to the spot, it was nothing, _nothing_ compared with what I felt now.

I knew it. I knew it. _I knew it._

I knew, from that very moment – from the second that the rogue had finished the story – I knew in that instant that it was all leading up to this. I knew – but I refused to believe it until I heard it with my own ears. As I looked back, I wondered if I had been better off to admit it as soon as I knew it. Maybe I should have come to terms with it then. Maybe doing so would have prepared me more for this particular situation. Maybe I would have regained control of my body. Maybe. But then again, maybe not.

"You are the only one, you see. No one here has the capacity to perform the procedure on a human so very appealing to our taste. No one else could do it without killing her. And you can understand why we need her alive. She is the key to raise the sun upon the darkened world we live in – a world where the Volturi have consumed all of the light. Using her, we can bring back our choice to live the way _we_ want to – not the way some cloaked swine tell us to."

Perhaps he could see that the expression on my face did not change an inch with his words, because he added in a firmer, nastier tone: "Change her, Doctor Carlisle, to keep Mrs. Isabella Cullen alive."

These words hit straight home. A dagger, plunging deep into the core of my heart, twisting and turning without mercy or guilt. A nail, being drilled at the slowest speed possible into every square millimeter of my body, one at a time. And the worst part was being unable to scream. No matter how hard I thrashed and jerked and bellowed my guts out – no sound ever escaped my mouth. Not so much as a whimper – a peep.

I looked into the eyes of the human girl for what must've been the thousandth time since I first saw her. They were wider than I had ever seen, and I was suddenly reminded of a Labrador Retriever I had when I was around eighteen years old. Memories of my human life rarely returned to me, and this was a first. I saw flashes of my younger self running around, with my dog chasing me. Then a loud howl was heard, and as I turned around – that happy punk kid grin still on my face – the last thing I saw was his huge black eyes open wide, before his eyelids drooped down and he collapsed.

Against the wishes of my body – which in turn seemed relentless when it came to giving me as much trouble as possible – my feet carried me forward, towards the girl. The closer I got, I began to see that she was trembling lightly. Whether it was from fear or shock or both – I couldn't tell. When at last I was less than five feet from her, one good look at her was all it took to send me back down to my knees. The metal cuffs and chains that were wrapped around her arms and legs left red marks on her pale, dirty skin, rubbing roughly against it. A thicker chain was wrapped around her waist multiple times, protruding from a hole in the floor. Her breaths were short and rapid, going at a rate of a couple per second, as thought she could never get close to enough oxygen with just one. There were literally chunks of dirt in her hair, as big as my thumbnail. She appeared to be covered in a layer of dust, as though she'd been cooped up somewhere dirty for a long time – like an old book in a basement. Her fingernails looked gnarled and torn, with black dirt underneath.

I'd never seen anything or anyone so helpless and vulnerable in my entire life.

"No."

I didn't realize that it was I who'd spoken until I heard Esme gasp, and all attention turned on me. Funny – I didn't feel my lips or tongue move, nor did I feel sound escape my throat, which was dryer than a bone.

I changed Edward because his mother asked me to, because I was dying for a companion, and because he was dying. I changed Rosalie because she was ruined beyond repair, ready to die and willing as well. I changed Esme because from the moment I saw her mangled body at the hospital, I fell in love with her, and _couldn't_ let her die. I was willing to change Bella because it was crystal clear she and Edward needed to be together. All of them, with the exception of Bella, wished to have never become what they are. But there was _absolutely no reason_ for me to condemn this poor young girl to a life of eternal damnation. She deserved to live a normal human life, away from the supernatural. Weak and innocent, she did nothing wrong to be destined for such a gory future. And I would _not_ be held responsible for doing that to her.

"I won't do it."

Still on my knees, I reached a hand out and stroked her cheek gently. I felt her blood pulse beneath my touch, warm and full of life. Life that I wouldn't take away.

"I'm not going to change this poor child. You can't make me." Those words didn't sound like mine, but I knew now without a doubt that they were. Some things just happened without explanations.

Beside me, I heard Bella intake a breath of air sharply. "C-Carlisle?" she whispered.

Before I had the chance to react in any way, the voice returned. "You realize what this means, don't you, Mr. Carlisle? If you refuse to do as I ask you, Mrs. Cullen with inevitably perish."

For the first time in what felt like forever, I inhaled. The rush of air through my lungs was overwhelming, and filled with the toxic scent of fear, confusion, and hopelessness.

"Not to mention, it will mean that the other part of our deal will be meaningless, and we will be free to do whatever we like with the rest of your family as well."

I knew all of these things. How could I not? I knew them like I knew the back of my hand. That was why I couldn't believe what I was doing, when seconds later I spoke again.

"I won't do it."

I felt my hands tremble as I caressed the girl's cheek once again. She looked up at me with a shocked expression that went beyond words.

"If Carlisle can't do it, then I will."

My jaw dropping down, I swayed on my knees, ready to embrace death as it came for me. That voice – it couldn't be!

Gathering up the very last of my strength, I looked to see who had spoken. He took a few steps forward, nearing me.

Edward.


End file.
